There was a healthy Liverpool presence among the England under-21 squad which retained their European crown in recent days.
Lee Carsley’s side secured back-to-back continental triumphs last weekend after beating Germany 3-2 in the final in Bratislava, with three current Reds players featuring in the decider.
Player of the tournament Harvey Elliott opened the scoring early on, while Jarell Quansah (who now looks set to join Bayer Leverkusen) also started, and Tyler Morton replaced the injured Alex Scott just before half-time.
When are Elliott and Morton due to return for pre-season?
The majority of the Liverpool squad will report for the beginning of pre-season training next Tuesday, but naturally the heroes of England’s under-21 success in Slovakia will be granted additional leave, having not yet had a proper summer break.
In the latest edition of The Transfer DealSheet for The Athletic, which was published this morning, David Ornstein indicated that Elliott and Morton have been granted leave until 20 July so that they have an extended breather after their national team involvement.
Can Elliott and Morton build on their England under-21 heroics?
It was notable that Quansah’s name wasn’t mentioned, with the defender almost certain to be a Leverkusen player by that point, and the other two Liverpool players in Carsley’s victorious squad could also face uncertain futures at club level.
The ex-Fulham youngster has been urged by Henry Winter to move on to pastures new if he continues to struggle for game-time at Anfield, while the Wallasey-born midfielder has also found it difficult to hold down a regular place in Arne Slot’s side and is reportedly the subject of interest from several clubs.
It therefore remains to be seen whether Elliott and Morton will still be with the Reds by the time they’re due to report back from their summer holidays.
If neither of them leaves in the meantime, the only friendly they’re due to miss will be the clash against Preston on 13 July, with Liverpool not due to fly out to the Far East until the following week, so the duo are set to link up with the squad for the games against AC Milan and Yokohama F. Marinos at the end of this month.
All in all, it shouldn’t be overly disruptive to LFC’s pre-season plans to be without the England under-21 pair for the first fortnight after the squad reconvenes in Kirkby, especially compared to last summer when there were several late returns from Euro 2024 and the Copa America (and also with Slot having just arrived on Merseyside).
Once they’re back from their well-earned rest, hopefully Elliott and Morton will make a positive impact in the friendly fixtures prior to the start of the competitive action in August, with both potentially having plenty to contribute if they remain at Anfield for the 2025/26 campaign.
