Liverpool lose star midfielder due to BIZARRE twist

Liverpool are planning to be fit and raring to go for the start of their title defence in August.

Transfer moves are being completed over these next few months and in July, the players will reconvene for a pre-season tour of Japan before building up their training for the new season.

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New tactical blueprints will have been created by Arne Slot over the summer and he will be desperately hoping that he has a full squad of players to choose from when August rolls around.

However, one player has been confirmed to be unavailable for the start of the season already and it's nothing to do with their fitness. A bizarre part of the Premier League rolls prohibits his participation.

Ryan Gravenberch to miss the season opener

Last week on Wednesday June 18, it was Premier League fixture release day, allowing fans to theorise how difficult a start it might be for Liverpool to retain their title, alongside how the festive period unfolds in December and what the run-in might look like if there's a title race.

First up for the reigning champions is Bournemouth, who will be visiting Anfield on Friday 15th August, which should ordinarily be a straightforward start. The Cherries will be missing Dean Huijsen, and supposedly Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi from their defensive ranks due to transfers.

However, Gravenberch will be absent from the Reds, despite his long-term commitment to the side.

Unlike with yellow cards, that do not continue over, red card suspensions have to be served, regardless of when the offence is made. The Dutchman's dismissal against Crystal Palace at Anfield on the last day of the 2024/25 season means that he will be unable to play against Bournemouth.

The challenge he put in was deemed 'a professional last man foul' which might otherwise be known as 'denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity' (DOGSO) which is a one match ban according to the FA as supposed to 'serious foul play' or 'violent conduct' which incur more serious suspensions.

It was clarified back in May that the Community Shield cannot be used as a way to serve the suspension before the season starts because the punishment is competition-specific.

As such, Arne Slot will have to get a little creative with his plans for the game. Florian Wirtz's transfer will move Dominik Szoboszlai to a deeper midfield position, so the Hungarian may end up partnering Alexis Mac Allister in a double-pivot, which would be an overly attacking approach to adopt.

More realistically, Wataru Endo might get a chance to start the campaign with a start which in turn could bolster his hopes of having more of an impact in the side other than being the games' closer.

Beyond those options, we could even see Stefan Bajcetic be given a run out if he can recover from his surgery over the summer. If he makes it to pre-season then it shouldn't be ruled out that he could become Gravenberch's long-term understudy after a couple of loan spells last season.

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In general, it's clear that this shouldn't be a problem. While the Dutchman was incredibly impressive last season, the squad has more than enough to cover him. But it just goes to show, one error in a 'nothing game' at the end of the season before title celebrations can have significant consequences.

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