A penny for Gareth Southgate’s thoughts: 33 days before England’s World Cup crusade starts, the head coach was on Merseyside for an important scouting trip.
Joe Gomez, on the back of his outstanding performance against Manchester City, was high on Southgate’s list to watch with so many concerns over the state of his defence; Trent Alexander-Arnold had to be seen, too, given the injury that has wrecked Reece James’s dreams.
Jordan Henderson was another Southgate would have been happy to see popping the ball about with class and conviction.