Chiesa to miss Liverpool tour, Diaz travels amid exit rumours
Liverpool are set to play two friendlies in Hong Kong and Japan, with Federico Chiesa the biggest name to be left out of their squad.
Federico Chiesa has been omitted from Liverpool's squad for their pre-season tour of Hong Kong and Japan, while Luis Diaz will make the trip despite being linked with a transfer.
Chiesa joined Liverpool from Juventus last year but struggled for regular minutes as Arne Slot's side stormed to the Premier League title.
He did not make his first start in the competition until the penultimate matchday, in a 3-2 loss to Brighton, and his six league appearances only amounted to 104 minutes.
Chiesa has previously hinted a return to Serie A could be on the cards and has been linked with Inter, Milan and Roma.
He was not among the 29 names selected to travel to Asia, though reports suggested Liverpool had left him at home due to a minor fitness issue.
Chiesa played and scored as Liverpool beat Stoke City 5-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the club's Kirkby training ground on Sunday.
Darwin Nunez – who has been linked with Napoli but will make the trip to Asia – scored a 15-minute hat-trick, while 16-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha was also on target.
Diaz did not feature against Stoke but has been named in the Reds' pre-season tour squad, having been linked with a move to Bayern Munich.
The Colombia international is reportedly keen to leave Anfield, but Liverpool value him close to €100m (£86.6m) and are said to have rejected a €67.5m (£58.4m) offer from the Bundesliga giants.
Diaz featured in 36 of Liverpool's 38 Premier League games last season, starting 28.
He scored 13 goals and supplied five assists, with only Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah (29 goals) outscoring him for the Reds.
Recent signings Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong will take part in the pre-season tour, as Liverpool continue to work on a deal to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt.
