EXCLUSIVE: Wonderkid will join Liverpool first team in pre-season

Anfield Watch understands a wonderkid is expected to join Liverpool's first team in pre-season.

The Reds will begin preparations for the new season on 7th July with their first pre-season game against Preston North End taking place six days later.

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With not many players on long-term international duty on tournaments, it's expected Arne Slot will be welcoming most of his first team players.

The notable exceptions will be Harvey Elliott, Tyler Morton and Jarell Quansah, who are all going to be competing at the U21 European Championships with England.

They are expected to join Liverpool at a later date, with the Reds planning to go on a tour of Asia to play in Japan and Hong Kong.

Naturally, Slot will also test some of Liverpool's youngsters on the tour. It's expected a few of the club's future stars will be starting their preparations with the first team in pre-season.

Including Liverpool's latest signing.

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20-year-old Armin Pecsi will be arriving from Puskas Akademia this summer and linking up with fellow Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai in the first team.

He's probably one of the club's most exciting young talents, and the only nominee Liverpool currently have in the top 100 rankings for the Golden Boy award.

It's expected that the Reds' new wonderkid will initially be playing for the club's U21 side as he adjusts to the demands of English football.

However, Anfield Watch understands that for the beginning of the pre-season, Pecsi will be joining the first team and he will be part of Slot's preparations.

This means he could get a chance to make his unofficial debut for the club, if the need arises to use more than two goalkeepers with Alisson Becker and Giorgi Mamardashvili currently ahead of him in the pecking order.

In pre-season, Liverpool often rotate goalkeepers, so this is a possibility.

Last summer, Slot used three goalkeepers during the preparations with third choice Vitezslav Jaros playing three games during pre-season, including 28 minutes against Sevilla, when Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher were both available.

It's expected Jaros is going to depart on loan with Ajax currently the frontrunners to sign him.

This will open up a space for Pecsi to claim the number three spot and thus potentially make his debut for the Reds' first team.

The club have high hopes for Pecsi and regard him as Slot's third choice keeper.

While, he will be playing mostly U21 football next season, which is a step down for somebody who has over 50 first team appearances under his belt, the expectations is that he will be training alongside Mamardashvili and Alisson, to learn the ropes and this is very much a step up.

As a third choice goalkeeper, he could even get a chance to make his debut for the Reds' first team in a rare circumstance if both Alisson and Mamardashvili are injured.

This occurred last season, too, with Jaros playing against Crystal Palace in the Premier League and Brighton in the League Cup.

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In the long-term, Liverpool envision Pecsi to be a first choice goalkeeper. That is why they have invested £1.5m on him, which makes him the second most expensive Hungarian goalkeeper behind Peter Gulacsi.