Liverpool missing at least 14 players this summer as Arne Slot faces anxious wait

The transfer window may not be officially open yet but there has already been one deadline this summer that will have been of interest to new Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.

Friday night saw the cut-off point for countries involved in the forthcoming European Championships in Germany to finalise their 26-man squads.

And a total of 10 Liverpool players will be involved with their respective national teams - and will therefore be unavailable for the first day of pre-season under Slot.

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With the tournament starting next Friday, the group stage - after which eight of the 24 competitors will be eliminated - doesn't start being completed until June 23. Any Reds involved will be given a significant break - usually around three weeks - after their interest in the Euros is ended, meaning none will be back for when the new era begins under Slot.

The Dutchman is expected to begin work in earnest at the AXA Training Centre during the first week in July with the first of his players reporting for pre-season duty towards the weekend.

While Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah have been cut from the provisional squad, both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez will represent England at the Euros. The Three Lions begin their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday week.

Holland, though, have the most Liverpool representatives with Virgil van Dijk skippering a squad that also includes Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch. The Dutch open Group D earlier on Sunday when they tackle Poland, and later face Austria and France, for whom Ibrahima Konate has been selected.

Group A will see Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai skipper Scotland and Hungary respectively. The Scots play the opening match of the tournament against hosts Germany next Friday while Hungary take on Switzerland the following day.

Diogo Jota, meanwhile, is in the Portugal squad in Group F to face Turkey, Georgia and, in their first game, the Czech Republic, who have called up Vitezslav Jaros after the goalkeeper impressed when on loan at Sturm Graz in the second half of the campaign.

However, the European Championships isn't the only major international tournament taking place this summer. The Copa America kicks off the following week and while not every squad has yet been confirmed for the competition, it's almost certain Liverpool will have four players feature.

Alisson Becker has already been named in the final Brazil squad, while Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz are currently with Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia respectively. With the group stage not concluding until the final days of the month, there is no chance any of those four players will be available for Liverpool until several weeks into pre-season.

One further complication for Slot is the Olympic Games football tournament in France. Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are touted to be included as overage players for Egypt and Japan respectively, and although the competition doesn't start until July 24, the duo could be required for a training camp with their country beforehand should they be included.

Nevertheless, it will be some time before Slot is able to have a full grasp on the squad he has inherited.