Liverpool

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Florian Wirtz says he does nt think about his transfer price tag as he settles into life at Liverpool and prepares for Sunday's Community Shield fixture against Crystal Palace.

The German, signed from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £100m, featured in Monday's friendly win over Athletic Bilbao and said: "I don't think about it. I just want to play football and how much money the clubs pay between each other, it doesn't matter.

"Of course the big challenge is to win the title again and it is the most difficult thing so (I will) try and just create chances and also work against the ball.

"I can also run a lot so (I will) bring this to the team and then with the ball I can make the team better and bring my team-mates into better situations.

"I came because I thought I could fit in this team and I am enjoying to play with these players and getting every time a little bit better so I am happy with how it is going."

Wirtz, 22, scored 57 times in 197 outings for Leverkusen.

He found the net for Liverpool in their victory over Yokohama F. Marinos last week and hit the bar with a header in Monday's win over Bilbao.

"I am a player who needs freedom on the pitch and the manager gives it to me because I have to respect the position and the players around me," he added.

"I will try to find the right places to be and the right spaces to get the ball and to be dangerous and create chances - I have not played a match in the Premier League but I am looking forward and that is why I came."

As the Alexander Isak transfer saga continues to rumble on, the team on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club have been discussing the striker's future, with Newcastle holding out for a record transfer fee after an initial Liverpool bid.

The i-Paper's Daniel Storey and Pat Nevin questioned Isak's behaviour.

But former Reds defender Stephen Warnock said he can understand why Isak has separated himself from the squad to some extent.

Warnock says the Sweden international is "not thinking of playing in the Champions League, he is thinking of winning it".

He added: "In Isak's mind that is a very different conversation, that is a different career path."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

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'Why did you fall in love with your club?'

This week, we have asked hundreds of football fans across the world that very question and got hundreds of different answers.

Yes, the themes might be similar - born near a ground; family supported the team; watched a certain player - but the individual story will be unique to each supporter.

The relationship between a fan and their club should not be underestimated, with people ploughing uncountable amounts of money, time and emotional energy into their support for their team.

But what is that makes us love our clubs the way we do?

"A lot of it comes down to our identity," researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs told BBC Sport.

"We become part of this group that means so much to us. It becomes a way to find a community that you're a part of and to find a group of people that, no matter where you are, you could find a pub with other fans of your team. You have that kinship.

"In a world that's increasingly quite lonely, this provides one of the ways that we can have connections so we can have the feeling that we're part of something bigger."

Connection and identity plays a big role in someone's love for their club - particularly when it is a family link.

Many fans talk of being born into who they support - that the connection is so strong there was no other team they could, or would, have chosen.

"The great thing with football is that there's such a strong heritage component to it," Sarver Coombs said. "Often, your grandfather, father, mother or whomever was a fan of the team, so it's part of your family's tradition.

"It's handed down from generation to generation."

The uniqueness of football fandom is something researchers are increasingly investigating.

An article, external published earlier this year in psychology journal Frontiers discusses how football fans often follow follow teams with 'significant attachment and commitment, sometimes to the bewilderment of those outside of the game'.

"With football clubs, you have decades of tradition that you can tap into and it's going to keep coming," Sarver Coombs added.

"Players come and go, managers come and go, shirts change, badges change, but the club itself - the heart and soul of it remains constant. You always have that piece that you're tied to, so the longevity of clubs is a really important part.

"But also, that constant in-person opportunity to be present in a community space really sets football apart from other passions that may be transient or do not have that constant engagement."

Share your story in our My Club My Passion campaign

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Rio Ngumoha, who is the second youngest Liverpool player to play in a competitive game ever, shone again in pre-season to get fans wondering if he could be part of the first team this year.

The Reds played an unusual double header against Athletic Bilbao, with their second XIs meeting at 17:00 BST and their first teams facing off at 20:00.

England Under-17 forward Ngumoha started the first game - and had a goal and assist to his name in the opening five minutes.

"He is such an excellent prospect," said ex-Reds defender Gary Gillespie on LFC TV.

"The difficulty is managing expectations but it's hard to put a lid on it."

Liverpool fans were singing his name as Curtis Jones urged them to show their appreciation after he caused the La Liga side all kinds of problems with his dribbling and trickery.

The 16-year-old left to a standing ovation midway through the second half.

"I'm not trying to rush because I'm still only young," said Ngumoha last week.

"But at the same time, I just want to show the manager what I can do and not get too complacent. I just want to do bigger and better things for me and the club."

Read the full article here

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After another impressive pre-season perfrormance from Rio Ngumoha, we asked if you want to see the 16 year-old in Liverpool's first team this season.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: Rio should be in the main squad. If you are good enough then you are old enough. But wrap him in cotton wool - he is going to be a star.

Carl: I think Rio has an exciting future ahead of him. He is only 16 so I think Liverpool should send him out on loan to Tranmere. Go an help them in League Two.

Nigel: Baby steps. We do not want him to think he is the finished article - I don't know his personality, some can handle it but most cannot. A lot of maturing and growing still to come.

Dan: He glides past people with ease, you can see his football IQ is beyond his years, his positioning, passing, he has everything to be the next world beater. Hopefully Arne gives him a chance and with Diaz off to pastures new it opens up a slot for him on the left. Yes it's preseason but I think he is capable of doing that on a weekly basis in the Premier League.

Eugene: Do not put him out on loan. Keep him at the club. He should make substitute appearances in the league and perhaps play all League Cup and FA cup games.

Brazil winger Rodrygo, 24, wants to stay at Real Madrid amid interest from Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool. (AS - in Spanish), external

Liverpool are keeping tabs on Republic of Ireland and Brentford defender Nathan Collins, 24. (GiveMeSport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Arne Slot says he was pleased with both the offensive and defensive display in Liverpool's final pre-season matches against Athletic Bilbao.

The Reds played back-to-back games against the Spanish side on Monday with an aggregate score of 7-3.

"I think in both games we created a lot of chances so that's very pleasing to see because we definitely didn't score every chance we had," Slot said. "That pleased me most, the ability to create the chances and even to score seven goals over two games is also good.

"The other games in pre-season, I think we've conceded a few chances too much. Today we hardly conceded anything at all, so that pleased me as well. But then to concede, especially in the second game, two set-piece goals, that's not what you want – especially if you play Crystal Palace [on Sunday] who are a team that are very strong on set-pieces."

On his attacking options: "We've lost two quality players with Diogo [Jota] and Luis Diaz but we've added with Hugo [Ekitike] a player that's going to be a very good player for us. Rio [Ngumoha] is showing good things every time in pre-season."

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Liverpool finished their pre-season campaign with back-to-back victories against Athletic Bilbao.

The first game was a 4-1 victory over the La Liga side, with goals from Darwin Nunez, Ben Doak, Harvey Elliott and 16 year-old Rio Ngumoha - who opened the scoring in the match on his unofficial Anfield debut.

In game two, a goal from Mohamed Salah and a brace from Coady Gakpo saw Arne Slot's men run out 3-2 victors.

Up next for the Reds is Sunday's Community Shield with Crystal Palace before the Premier League campaign kicks off next week.

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Liverpool were comfortable 4-1 winners over Athletic Bilbao in the first of a double-header of friendlies on Monday.

In the first match at Anfield since the deaths of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, the club paid tribute to the forward and his brother before the game.

Arne Slot fielded what was a mostly second-string starting XI for the first game, the second of which gets under way at 20:00 BST, with 16-year old Rio Ngumoha on the left wing - and he caught the eye as he has done all summer.

He netted in just the second minute as he ran onto a loose ball in his own half before racing forward and curling a fine effort in from 20 yards out.

Just three minutes later, the youngster nodded a Ben Doak cross down for Darwin Nunez to net from close range.

Doak and Harvey Elliott added to the lead, before Gorka Guruzeta pulled a consolation goal back for the visitors 15 minutes from time.

Ngumoha's impressive performance came on the back of an assist against AC Milan and a goal against Yokohama F. Marinos in Asian friendlies.

In January, the England under-17 international became the youngest player to start a match, and the second youngest to play, for Liverpool - aged 16 years and 135 days old - in the 4-0 win over Accrington in the FA Cup.

What do you make of Ngumoha's pre-season?

Should he be given a chance in the first team this season?

Or would he benefit from experience elsewhere first?

Let us know your thoughts

Liverpool paid tribute to Diogo Jota in their first match at Anfield since the late forward's death.

Liverpool legend Phil Thomson and Athletic president Jon Uriarte brought wreaths out on to the pitch and laid them on the edge of the six-yard box before the opening game.

The billboards around Anfield read 'Rest in Peace Diogo Jota and Andre Silva - You'll Never Walk Alone', while fans sang about Jota.

Reds supporters also held up flags and banners remembering their number 20 - a number that has been retired by the club this summer.

Both sets of players, coaches and fans applauded as the game was stopped in the 20th minute.

Read more over here

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Liverpool host Athletic Bilbao twice in a pair of friendlies on Monday evening and captain Virgil van Dijk has provided a message to fans in their first home outing since Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car accident.

"It has, of course, been a very challenging time," Van Dijk said in his matchday programme column.

"First and foremost for Diogo and Andre's family, for Rute and the kids. They are the people who must always come first in all of this. We must never forget that, and we cannot imagine their pain in this moment.

"It is still a bit surreal, to be honest, but we are coping in the best way possible as a team, and we are all trying to do the best job we can in order to get through this really difficult time.

"With everything that happened, it has been strange having to now try to carry on with work, with football. We will never forget Diogo, of course, but we just have to try to honour his memory. That's what we try to do each and every day.

"I always come back to the fact that we have to look after Diogo's family, his parents, and that's the main thing. You think about so many different things, and it's difficult to process. You can't imagine the pain, the feeling that they have. That's why we try to be there as much as we can, and for each other as well.

"That's also why it is very important that we honour and carry on his legacy, not only for now and the next couple of months, but for as long as we can, because that is what he deserves.

"But we are all in this together, we all have to go through this together, and we will. We will honour Diogo today, and in the future also. He will always be with us."

You can read the full tribute on Liverpool's club website, external.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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The Saudi Pro League is emerging as a possible destination for Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez this summer.

BBC Sport understands that a potential move to the Middle East for the Uruguay international has been explored this transfer window with intermediaries actively working on trying to broker a deal.

Al-Hilal, coached by former Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi, are interested in Nunez.

However, there is some uncertainty over whether Nunez is prepared to leave European football at this stage in his career.

Nunez has also been a target for Italian champions Napoli this summer while other continental sides have also shown an interest.

Offloading Nunez would financially aid Liverpool's efforts to land Newcastle striker Alexander Isak this window.

We know the relationship between a football fan and their club is a special one so, as we gear up for the new season, we asked you to share why you fell in love with Liverpool and some of your favourite moments supporting them.

Here are some of your submissions:

Ben: As a lad from Birmingham, with a Blues-supporting dad and a Villa fan for a mum, Liverpool was a rogue choice. However, the first live game I was taken to was Leicester v Liverpool at Filbert Street back in the 1985-86 season. My brother's best friend, Si Morgan, had recently broken into a Leicester side that included Alan Smith and a young Gary MacAllister. So up we travelled on a cold midweek night after school for a match under the lights only to watch Leicester win.

However, my night was about to become one I'll never forget. After meeting up with Simon in the players' area, he said he had a surprise for me. I was taken into the Liverpool changing room, and met King Kenny who introduced me to all the players, including Bruce Grobbelaar, Alan Hansen and Ian Rush!

On top of this, I received a signed football, programme and letter-headed paper from both teams. As an awe-inspired 8 year old, it was then I was cast as a Red for life!

Send your pictures and stories here

Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal see Liverpool and Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez as a priority target, with the 26-year-old receptive to the possibility of a move. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Manager Eddie Howe speaking from Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia on Alexander Isak and Liverpool's rejected bid for the striker: "I think from my situation, I am very much removed from everything that is happening back home.

"I was made aware there was a bid yesterday. That bid was turned down before I heard about it. There are people back in England dealing with the situation.

"I really don't know what is going to happen next but, from our perspective, we still support Alex in every way and my wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again.

"The situation is far from ideal. It is quite complex. I think that is all I have got to say."

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It was a busy Friday, with Liverpool making a first official bid for Alexander Isak.

The Reds have tabled an offer of £110m, which was rejected by Newcastle United.

Champions Liverpool are prepared to walk away from negotiations and BBC Sport understands they do not think a deal for Isak is achievable this summer as it stands.

You can read more on the saga here and get fan thoughts and opinion on the page below.

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Brighton midfielder James Milner says he will wear the number 20 shirt for the 2025-26 season as a "mark of respect" to former Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash last month.

Milner played alongside Jota for three seasons between 2020 and 2023 before leaving Anfield to join Brighton. The 39-year-old also travelled to Portugal for the funeral of Jota and his brother Andre Silva at the start of July.

Liverpool have retired the number 20 shirt worn by Jota in his five seasons at the club but Milner has opted to take the vacant shirt number at Brighton, after team-mate Carlos Baleba decided to switch numbers for the upcoming season.

Speaking to MyAlbion TV, external about his decision, Milner said: "Once I heard Carlos [Baleba] was looking to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and to obviously pay tribute to Diogo Jota.

"He was an amazing player, who I was fortunate to play with, and he was a great friend as well.

"It will be a great honour to wear his number in the Premier League this year."

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