5 forgotten Liverpool pre-season breakout stars who transformed the club

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For a handful of Liverpool players, those sleepy summer kickabouts against unfamiliar opposition became the exact moment everything clicked into place.With Liverpool's US tour kicking off on Saturday against Sunderland, it's worth asking: who's about to have their Sterling moment? Raheem Sterling – 2012: The teenager who announced himselfNorwich City v Liverpool - Premier League | Michael Regan/GettyImagesSterling was just 17 when he arrived at pre-season training in 2012, already Liverpool's third-youngest ever player after a Premier League debut against Wigan the season before.

Performances against Borussia Dortmund and Sporting CP, plus a goal versus Tranmere Rovers, showed off the close control and relentless engine that would define the early stages of his career.By December he'd made his Premier League bow. He'd just spent half a season on loan at League One's Bristol Rovers, hardly the pedigree for a Premier League leap.

Then pre-season happened, and with substitute cameos against Bayern Munich and Leicester City, the club revealed a defender with composure and physical presence well beyond his experience level.The Merseyside-born centre-back exploded into life in 2023/24: 33 appearances, goals in back-to-back league games against Wolves and Aston Villa, a Carabao Cup winner's medal, and a starring role in Arne Slot's title-winning debut season. He travelled with Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup squad, missed the final cut, and now arrives at this pre-season with genuine momentum, potentially Liverpool's leading left-wing option for this summer window with Cody Gakpo returning late from the World Cup.One thing's certain: keep an eye on the kids this pre-season.