Adrian: I take pride in the role I have at Liverpool

Adrian had no doubts in signing a new one-year contract to stay at the Reds in the knowledge that his playing time will be extremely limited.

The Spanish goalkeeper has played a total of two games in the last two seasons, in 2021/2 a League Cup fixture against Preston and then at the start of last seasons, the 36 year-old deputised for the injured Alisson and Caoimhin Kelleher in the Community Shield against Man City which the Reds won 3-1.

It would have been very easy for Adrian to look for a club where he knows he will be getting games on a consistent basis.

However there is a reason why Jurgen Klopp loves having the keepers the books and that is his willingness to be a mentor to those younger players in the squad as well as keeping those ahead of him in the pecking order on their toes.

Speaking to the Official site Adrian says he embraces every day at the club.

“I'm delighted, to be honest, to stay here and continue being part of this great football club. From the beginning, when I came in 2019, the club, the fans, the manager opened their arms like, 'This is your new home.' Yeah, this is my new home.

“As I always say, the competition makes us better and we have a great goalkeeper group with the goalkeeper coach, the youngsters – it's a good mix. We are good friends as well. So that is the most important thing – to be close to each other, to support in those difficult moments.”

It is that outstanding attitude that doesn’t always exist at every top-flight club, but for Adrian it seems to come naturally.

Despite coming from Spain, Adrian has spent the best part of a decade in the Premier League having played 139 games for West Ham and the Reds and therefore has a wealth of knowledge to pass on, indeed he is the oldest member of the Liverpool squad after the departure of James Milner to Brighton.

And with the additions of some exciting talent in recent times, Adrian looks to pass on his share of relevant advice as well as helping them adapt to a foreign league and lifestyle.

“I try to help the youngsters. We have a big Latin group as well, so I try to help them to settle as quick as possible – like Darwin [Nunez] learning English and Luis [Diaz] improving as well. We are like a family. We have to help each other to adapt as quick as possible, to play and to perform as well as possible. I'm one of the team players that try to help and is ready for any opportunity.

Nunez is a player that had many column inches dedicated to his output (or some would say lack of it) in his first season.

However the veteran believes that we will see a player truly determined to make his mark in the new campaign.

“He's desperate to start scoring goals again, looking forward to the first friendly and to play and score some goals. I think he helped [us] a lot last season but I think this second season for him will be more calm. He has the experience of the first [season] now and he had to learn many things as well because he's still very young – but I think he can help us a lot.