Liverpool attacker set to return to first-team for the first time in eight months

An exciting Liverpool attacker is set to return to the first team for the first time in eight months.

All the focus is on Alexander Isak at the moment. He's the attacker everyone is talking about around the club. And rightly so, Liverpool signed him for a British transfer record.

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Isak is the kind of marquee signing Liverpool don't really make very often. In fact, they have rarely ever signed a player of his ilk, especially an attacker with the status that he has.

At this moment in time, we can't for him to get going in a Liverpool shirt.

His first appearance looks set to be against Atletico Madrid. Anfield under the floodlights in the Champions League is probably the perfect start for Isak.

But he might not be the only surprise and relatively 'new' name in the Liverpool squad set to take on the La Liga side.

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Arne Slot has a few decisions to make when it comes to his bench. Unlike in the Premier League where you can only name nine players on the substitute bench, in the Champions League you can have 12.

This increases Slot's options and gives him the ability to have players on the bench like Giovanni Leoni, who have otherwise missed out on being named in the Premier League squads so far this season.

Among those players Jayden Danns is likely to be making his return to the first team.

Jayden Danns set to return to first team squad

The Liverpool attacker has already made nine appearances for the club's first team under Slot and Jurgen Klopp. In that time, Danns has scored three goals - averaging a goal every 65 minutes.

His last appearance though came eight months ago back in January when he started against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

Ever since that appearance Danns has not been involved in a first team squad in a competitive match. He's been recovering from a long-term injury and has been doing his rehabilitation process with the club's U21 side.

But he's very highly rated by Slot and ahead of the game, Danns was spotted training with Liverpool's first team on Tuesday afternoon.

He was just a handful of academy players involved with Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha also participating in the training session as expected.

This still would not guarantee that Danns would be in the squad. However, with Liverpool announcing their UEFA Youth League squad, it was interesting that Danns was not named in the team that would play Atletico Madrid at the AXA Training Centre on Wednesday afternoon.

Liverpool academy expert Lewis Bower confirmed the news on X and stated that the expectation is for Danns to be on the first-team bench.

Which means that after almost eight months away from the first team, he's finally going to be back in the squad.

Whether he gets minutes will depend on how the game goes. It's looking unlikely given the depth Liverpool have in attack with Isak and Hugo Ekitike expected to be involved.

But you just never know.

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