Curtis Jones and Caoimhin Kelleher will start for Liverpool in Tuesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie with Norwich City.

A free coach will be in operation to take fans to the next Liverpool FC Women home game, against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Manchester United and Liverpool are both reportedly keen on AC Milan star Franck Kessie amid a contract standoff with the club.

Manchester United and Liverpool are both reportedly keen on AC Milan star Franck Kessie amid a contract standoff with the club.

The Serie A giants have been in “continuous” talks with the midfielder and his agent George Atangana as Premier League giants Liverpool and United monitor the situation ahead of the January transfer window.

According to Ill Milanista, Tuttosport has reported it is “not a mystery” that the Premier League clubs have been considering a move for the Ivorian international.

Full story: Daily Mirror

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

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An enthusiastic Pep Lijnders took over the press duties ahead of the League Cup meeting with Norwich, speaking animatedly about Kaide Gordon, Ibrahima Konate and Curtis Jones.

Here are five things Liverpool‘s assistant manager told the media and supporters in his press conference on Monday:

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1. Time to “attack” the League Cup

The Reds have not had a successful run in the League Cup of late, with penalty shootouts, Premier League opposition and a trip to Qatar putting a spanner in the works.

But it remains “an important competition, despite what people are saying” for Lijnders, Klopp and co. with the club yet to add a domestic cup to the tally under the German.

“We want to introduce new players and second, we have this group of players inside our building who won so much, but to become proper legends you need national cups as well so we want to attack them!”

2. One name confirmed to start

Rotation will be the word once more, but you can write Curtis Jones‘ name in the XI with a permanent marker as he is guaranteed a start.

Lijnders confirmed as much for what will be Jones’ 50th game for Liverpool, a milestone that will see him come full circle as “it all started with these kinds of games.”

It means he could be sitting alongside the likes of James Milner, Naby Keita or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield.

3. Reds to be without 4 at Carrow Road

Moreover, Klopp’s options have become clearer for Tuesday night’s clash, with Thiago, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Roberto Firmino and Neco Williams all to play no part.

The Spaniard will miss at least the next two games with scans on his calf yet to determine the severity of his injury, while the game is too soon for Trent and Williams.

Firmino is to return to “parts of team training” on Monday before stepping up his recovery.

The most poignant note from Lijnders on the situation was that “In one week we lose two really influential midfielders, that’s the bad thing.”

4. The next in line to inspire the whole academy

Having long been instrumental in acting as the bridge between the academy and the first team, Lijnders’ excitement for the club’s future stars is infectious, to say the least.

Kaide Gordon is one name that could feature on Tuesday and the “fire” he showed before his senior pre-season call up won the assistant manager over and the sky is truly the limit.

“He’s a typical Liverpool Football Club winger, in my opinion. He has goals, speed and we really like him and we are really happy he is with us!”

As are we, and there is a lot more where Gordon came from.

“I’m excited about our academy, there are so many talents! Diamonds! So many special players. There are so many who cannot wait to take their step up.

“Young players never let you down, they never do and they never will.”

5. Reds have a “beast in terms of physics” in their midst

Ibrahima Konate made his Liverpool debut against Crystal Palace, a solid performance that offered a glimpse at what is to come from the young defender.

Klopp was equally full of praise post-match but knows there are still “harsh lessons” to come and Lijnders echoed the sentiment and nodded to the famous settling-in period needed at Anfield.

“Robbo said it to him: All of us need time to adapt to our style. Virgil is probably one of the only ones who came in but he still needed to adapt,” Lijnders explained.

“He’s a beast in terms of physics! He can catch so many players, strong in the air, has a really good build-up so strong offensively as well. But he’s still so young.”

Another outing could come at Carrow Road, with Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips the other candidates.

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Liverpool will be going all out to add the 2021-22 Carabao Cup to the club’s honours list, Pepijn Lijnders stressed.

Pepijn Lijnders believes the Academy boasts numerous ‘diamonds’ with the potential to make the step up to Liverpool’s first team.

Kaide Gordon more than caught the eye during his spell with the first team in pre-season and he has assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders speaking glowingly of his talent.

The 16-year-old only arrived at Liverpool in January but had a long list of admirers that spoke volumes of the talent he possesses.

A versatile forward, Gordon assimilated to life at Liverpool first with the academy before being drafted into the first team’s pre-season plans, going on to play 194 minutes across five games.

His place in the squad came thanks to his show of “fire” in training that caught the attention of non-other than Lijnders, who immediately got Jurgen Klopp on the line to tell him: “‘Wow, we have a new player here!'”

The excitement is more than warranted and it was matched by Lijnders’ enthusiasm as he spoke of the teenager ahead of Liverpool‘s League Cup tie at Norwich, with Gordon anticipated to play a part.

“Before pre-season we always make sure our biggest talents they start a week earlier than we start so they start with the U23s training,” Lijnders told reporters on Monday.

“I went to the U23s training and I see one player and he has fire in each moment he touched the ball and he always passes players like they’re not standing there.

“So I called Jurgen immediately and ‘Wow, we have a new player here!’

“We took all these young players to pre-season and when you know you have a good player around you is when the senior players start taking care of this young player.

“So when you see James Milner speaking with Kaide, Trent becoming a proper mentor and when you see they invite him to sit at the table.

“And all of our boys invited him in our group and that made it good for him, how to adapt to our team and to our style.

“What you see a lot with these kind of wingers is they can outplay, they can combine and he has a goal in him – he has this natural ability to be in the box, between the goalposts to score.

“Not many talents have this. They may have the dribbling skills but they don’t have this desire to shoot, to come into the box, to score.

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“He’s a typical Liverpool Football Club winger, in my opinion. He has goals, speed and we really like him and we are really happy he is with us!”

While Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are vying for positions in attack at Carrow Road, Gordon will certainly come into Klopp’s thinking – on the bench at the very least.

Expectation will rightly remain carefully managed, but the excitement at what Gordon can offer in the future is clear to see – with the youngster in line to be the next to inspire a “whole academy.”

“I am excited about our academy, there are so many talents! Diamonds! So many special players who just who cannot wait to make their step up,” Lijnders added on the club’s youth pathway.

“It’s so important we keep doing this because with one player we push, we inspire a whole academy so we have to keep this pathway.

“Young players will never let you down, never! They never did and they never will.”

Right-back Conor Bradley could also be in line for his debut against Norwich on Tuesday night.

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Pepijn Lijnders has detailed how Harvey Elliott has responded ‘outstandingly’ in dealing with the setback of facing time on the sidelines following ankle surgery.

Thiago will miss both of Liverpool‘s trips to Norwich and Brentford at the very least, while Tuesday’s League Cup tie comes too soon for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino.

The No. 6 was a casualty in the Reds’ 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, with a calf complaint forcing his substitution in the 62nd minute before he hobbled down the injury tunnel.

Jurgen Klopp was left hoping it was not “too serious” in the immediate aftermath and now assistant manager Pep Lijnders has confirmed he will be unavailable for the next two games.

The final scan results are yet to be confirmed meaning the two-game absence is on the short-term spectrum, meaning Liverpool have lost two “influential” midfielders in the space of one week.

“Thiago, how the gaffer said after the game, it was a calf injury. I can’t say now how long it will take but definitely not tomorrow and not at the weekend,” Lijnders told the club’s official website.

“Let’s get the scan results back and we have a proper diagnosis. A shame as well because he was taking the game by the hand, he was a proper playmaker in my opinion. A shame that we miss him.

“In one week we lose two really influential midfielders, that’s the bad thing.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, was a late omission from Liverpool‘s squad on Saturday after falling ill in the morning, requiring James Milner to step in.

And the right-back will once again be absent against Norwich, with the game coming “too early” – which is also the case for Roberto Firmino three weeks on from his hamstring injury.

“It was not easy because these guys – it says a lot about our group anyway – they want to play everything, [even] if they feel a bit shaky or ill. But he took the responsibility,” Lijnders added.

“That’s Trent, there are no symptoms – no COVID symptoms. We test regardless. He should be fine in a few days but Norwich comes too early.

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Firmino will return to “parts of team training” on Monday in a welcome boost for the weeks to come, with the Reds still to contest three games in the space of eight days after the trip to Carrow Road.

Neco Williams is “progressing really well” from his respective injury, but he too is not ready for Norwich, meaning the likes of Milner, Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley are in the running for a right-back berth.

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Thiago Alcantara will be sidelined for both of Liverpool's matches this week as a result of the calf injury he sustained at the weekend.

Terence Miles has signed his first professional contract with Liverpool FC.

Liverpool begin their 2021-22 Carabao Cup campaign with a trip to Norwich City in the third round on Tuesday night.

Alisson Becker challenged Liverpool to keep moving forward through the season with the same persistent mentality they displayed in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Watch live as Pepijn Lijnders previews Liverpool's Carabao Cup tie against Norwich City at a 12pm BST press conference today.

Patience has been a virtue for Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool’s £35 million signing from RB Leipzig spent the opening month of the season watching from the bench.

Rather than throw his new recruit straight in, Jurgen Klopp opted to play Joel Matip alongside the commanding Virgil van Dijk.

The manager believed Liverpool would benefit most from the understanding that existed between two experienced centre-backs who had recovered from serious injuries. He also felt that Konate needed more time on the training field to adapt to what was expected from him tactically.

Klopp reassured the young French defender that his time would come and Saturday’s hard-fought victory over Crystal Palace gave him the opportunity to showcase why he was Liverpool’s No 1 transfer target this summer. He did not disappoint.

Konate completed 48 of his 55 passes (87 per cent) and made three tackles, three clearances, two blocks and an interception. He got better the longer the game went on.

“We all saw what kind of potential the boy has — it’s incredible,” said Klopp. “Physicality, technique, game understanding, it’s all there. He’s in a really good way. There is a lot more to come from him.”

Konate was too strong for Wilfried Zaha when danger lurked in the first half and then too quick for Christian Benteke as he tracked back to snuff out the threat of the former Liverpool striker.

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James Milner says it is imperative Liverpool rotate Virgil van Dijk following his return from a long injury lay-off despite being regarded by team-mates as 'Superman'.

The Netherlands captain, 30, was rested for the midweek Champions League victory over AC Milan but returned to play his fifth full 90 minutes in the Premier League this season in the 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Van Dijk required ACL knee surgery after a clash with Jordan Pickford during a 2-2 draw with Everton on 17 October last year.

"We all think Virg is Superman and he is, 99 times out of 100," said Milner.

"But the injury that he has come back from - and to look as good as he has done since he has come back - you know, he's not 21.

"To do what he has done since he's been back is incredible. It shows what a good player he is, what a mentality he has.

Image: Liverpool have conceded one goal in their opening five Premier League games with Virgil van Dijk back in the team

"But he needs looking after as well, no matter how angry he gets at being left out of the team. He is going to need looking after and that is rotation."

Van Dijk started the first four league games of the campaign alongside Joel Matip but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp opted to name summer signing Ibrahima Konate as his centre-back partner against Palace.

Tuesday 21st September 7:00pm Kick off 7:45pm

In place of the rested Van Dijk last week, England international Joe Gomez made a long-awaited return after 10 months out through a knee injury of his own.

Liverpool vice-captain Milner added: "You look at the centre-halves in the club - they are all incredible. You see them in training, they are unbelievable.

"I think it (rotation) is obviously important. The positions we got into last year, we were unlucky with injuries and players having to play out of position. I think it is to help with things like that."

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool's win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League

Liverpool, who have conceded just once so far in the league, travel to Norwich in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports.

The Reds finished third in the Premier League last season, 17 points behind champions Manchester City, after a strong finish ensured Champions League qualification.

Two years on from their league title, Milner believes they have even more in their squad than when they broke their 30-year title drought.

"I think that is the mentality you need. You can't dwell, whether you have a good performance or a bad performance. You need to move on to the next one," the 35-year-old added.

"You can't be too happy after a good one, you can't be too down after a bad one.

"If you have a couple of bad results and iffy performances, that is when it gets harder, but you look at this squad and it is more experienced than when we won the title.

"We had the pain of last year but it ended up being a really good year, with what we managed to achieve in the circumstances and coming with that late run (to qualify for the Champions League).

"But those experiences and feelings, as a group, we have been through them all together and that can only be a good thing."

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Liverpool and Chelsea are on red alert as transfer target Kingsley Coman has been tipped to leave Bayern Munich by the club's ex-sporting director.

The Premier League pair were linked with the winger during the summer transfer window but the Reds and Blues were both said to be put off by Bayern's asking price, reportedly £86million.

Coman, who has recently undergone minor heart surgery, has a contract at the Allianz Arena until 2023 but has often discussed his desire to feel more appreciated at the German giants, or else he will seek pastures new.

Full story: Daily Mirror

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

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