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Liverpool give latest update on Kirkby training base completion

  /  autty

Liverpool remain hopeful that their new training base in Kirkby will be open this summer.

Work at the £50million complex next to where the club's current academy is housed continues, despite the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus bringing many businesses to a grinding halt.

Liverpool have taken steps to move away from their current base, Melwood, in West Derby, with Jurgen Klopp 's players given individual training programmes to adhere to during their two-week absence.

Official club stores have also shut and staff at the Chapel Street offices in the city centre have been encouraged to work from home as the ongoing attempts to minimise the spread of COVID-19 continue across the planet.

Work at the building site that will become the new training ground is ongoing, however, with workers carrying on as normal at the base last week. Liverpool have privately indicated that the decision to cease work is not in their hands, with contractors McLaughlin and Harvey still at the site.

As it stands, it means the completion of the £50million venue remains on schedule with the club hopeful of opening its doors to Klopp and his first team in July.

However, whether that means Liverpool's first team will move there before the end of the current Premier League season remains in doubt.

The initial plan had been for the Reds to move all age groups to the once facility in time for pre-season in July, but the coronavirus pandemic has caused much disruption to football's global calendar.

The football authorities last week confirmed that April 30 would be the date for Premier League action to resume with the Reds tentatively pencilled in to visit Arsenal for their first game back on May 2.

That will continue to be monitored over the coming weeks as COVID-19 continues to work its way across Britain.

However, as work at Kirkby remains ongoing, the plans are unaltered, meaning Liverpool are still on course to welcome their players and coaching staff to a new facility later this year.

The 9,200 square metre centre will be a facility that will house both first-team stars and the club's Academy talent with Klopp keen to gather all age groups at the same site.

The ECHO understands both Klopp and his first-team players were consulted on certain key decisions during the building of the base with the club closing in on completion of what they believe will be one of Europe's finest training complexes.

The state-of the art facilities comprise of two gyms, a full-size sports hall, pool, a hydrotherapy complex as well as specialist sports rehabilitation suites for injured players to use when aiming to regain fitness.

Open-plan rooms have been designed for the gyms to allow players recovering from injury to see the training pitches in front of them as a source of motivation in their recovery process.

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