Jordan Henderson is excited by Darwin Nunez, who he feels brings "a new dimension" to Liverpool ahead of a likely debut against Manchester United.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Nunez and fellow new signing Fabio Carvalho are to be included in his squad to face United in Bangkok on Tuesday, as the Reds open their pre-season campaign.
Uruguay international forward Nunez was a high-profile arrival from Benfica in a deal that could reach a club-record £85million. He came in this off-season, with Sadio Mane leaving for Bayern Munich.
Nunez played against Liverpool in the Champions League last season and captain Henderson has already seen enough to believe the striker will make a big impact.
"Darwin performed well and scored in both games," Henderson said ahead of the United clash.
"That is probably a big reason why we signed him, but also the recruitment staff will have watched him in plenty of other games and will have seen a lot of quality.
"Hopefully, he can settle in and hit the ground running. He is a new option, a new dimension for us with the way we play. We have got to adapt to that quickly and get used to it.
"Darwin certainly gives us a different option in the way he plays and is hopefully a huge player for us going forward. He can score goals, the staff will have seen a lot of quality and seen a very good player.
"He is settling in really well. Don't get me wrong, it was his first proper session on Monday really, so [he] is still quite new into the group.
"But this group has shown in the past that it is easy to settle in quickly, he can already speak with some of the lads who speak Portuguese, but hopefully he can pick up English quickly.
"For us hopefully he can settle in and hit the ground running. Things move on, change, and hopefully we can adapt to that quickly."
Henderson was sad to see Mane depart but believes the attacking unit is still in strong shape, with Luis Diaz having impressed since joining from Porto in January.
The midfielder added: "Sadio would be a big miss for anybody, he is a world-class player, for me one of the best forwards in the world, so it's always going to be difficult losing him.
"We are sad to see him leave, but we wish him all the best. But you look at the forward line and it's still very, very strong.
"We have brought new players in, but we also have world-class players who performed last season. Luis Diaz has come in and performed phenomenally well.
"Bobby [Roberto Firmino] coming back is a big bonus for us, he was injured for a large part of last season. We have plenty of options for sure."
With the new season fast approaching – Liverpool open their competitive campaign against Manchester City in the Community Shield on July 30 – Henderson does not believe the title race will again be between only those two teams.
"I never think it will be just us and City," he said. "Other teams strengthen.
"You look at Chelsea, they are strengthening, United will strengthen, Spurs will strengthen – they have done so quite a lot so far.
"You look at other teams who are also going to strengthen.
"Yes, we have bought some new players and hopefully they can help us going forward and freshen things up, but we have to keep doing what we have been doing for a large period of time."
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
'Right guy at the right time' - Amorim confident of changing Man Utd's fortunes
Ruben Amorim believes he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United's fortunes around.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027, replacing Erik ten Hag after he was sacked in October.
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, having left Sporting CP to take charge during the international break.
He won two Primeira Liga titles as Sporting head coach as well as two Taca da Liga trophies, while he led the club to a perfect start in the league this season, winning all 11 of their games.
United sit 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on 15 points, though they are just four points behind Chelsea in third.
Amorim recognised the size of the task ahead of him in Manchester but is confident he can make a change.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself, and I believe in the club," he said during his first press conference.
"I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
"I truly believe in the players; I know you don't believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible, I do.
"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."
Aged 39 years and 302 days, Amorim will be the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
United have won just four of their 11 league games so far this season, and have struggled in front of goal, netting just 12 times so far.
Expected to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Amorim admitted it would take time for the club to adapt and has asked for patience as the players get used to his tactics.
"I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it's a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title," he added.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don't know how long it will take."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
