Liverpool youngster Jake Cain has revealed his disappointment at being overlooked for the pre-season tour of the Far East and the training camp in Austria earlier this summer.
Cain, who has been on the Reds books since the age of nine, was not part of the 37-man squad which flew over to Bangkok and Singapore for games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace in July, with the likes of Luke Chambers, Tyler Morton, Melkaumu Frauendorf, Stefan Bacjetic and Isaac Mabaya just some of the academy players including with the senior squad for the club's first pre-season tour since 2019.
After their commercial adventure in Southeast Asia, Jurgen Klopp and his players descended on the familiar surroundings of Saalfelden, Austria, for a six-day training camp where they played further games against RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, while Cain was again left back on Merseyside.
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Instead, the midfielder trained at the AXA Training Centre alongside his fellow U21 teammates as they prepared for the new Premier League 2 season, with an opening day clash against champions Manchester City on the horizon.
And speaking to Goal.com's Neil Jone s, Cain has revealed the blow of not being part of the first team's pre-season plans. “I can’t lie, I was disappointed," said the Wigan-born midfielder. “I thought I had a good loan, I did what was asked of me, and I thought I could come back and show the first team what I can do."
“They’re the best team in Europe, so I know it’s going to be very difficult to push for a place in the team, but I thought I might have been able to go on the tour, show what I can do and see what the first-team coaches said.
“So, yeah, it was disappointing.”
The 19-year-old, who was included in the Reds' month-long training camp in Austria last summer, spent the season on loan at League Two outfit Newport County and racked up 28 appearances during his season-long stay at Rodney Parade and is quick to highlight the lessons he took from his first season in the professional men's game.
“At U23s level, you rarely come across teams who want to mix it up and play long, but pretty much every team in League Two can do that, so you have to be ready to do the horrible side as well.
“I had to change the way I played, but I think I showed towards the end of the season especially that I could do that. I was winning my tackles and my headers, and helping us keep the ball when we had it. I think I improved a lot.”
Cain wore the armband on Sunday afternoon as an inexperienced under-21 side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. Reports also suggest that he could be the latest academy graduate to depart Anfield on loan this summer, with Jones reporting that there have already been enquiries for the midfielder.
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