Joey Barton and one other surprise visitor spotted at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre

Liverpool played host to two surprise visitors at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Sunday's match against Nottingham Forest - former goalkeeper Adam Bogdan and recently-sacked manager Joey Barton.

The Reds have had a packed schedule this week, playing three games across eight days. The first of those was a 2-0 win against Everton^[1] in the Merseyside derby, and the second a 5-1 triumph over Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday^[2].

Up next are Forest, who have fought to stay above the relegation zone so far this campaign and have handed challenges to both Arsenal and Manchester United on separate away trips in recent months.

One luxury at least for Liverpool despite the amped-up October fixture list has been the fact that all three are home matches. It means Jurgen Klopp^[5] and his squad can stay settled at their base of operations in Kirkby.

And for unknown reasons there were two unforeseen guests at the AXA on Friday. The first to post about it was Joey Barton, who just 24 hours prior had been relieved of his duties as Bristol Rovers manager.

After three years in the post, he left with Rovers 16th in League One after 13 matches, five points above the drop zone. A club statement posted on Thursday thanked the former Manchester City midfielder for his contributions.

Barton posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing Liverpool^[6]'s training centre's pitches on a misty morning, accompanied with the caption "#Kaizen," a word of Japanese origin that translates to 'continuous improvement'.

Ex-Reds back-up goalkeeper Bogdan^[7] was in the building too, now a free agent since leaving Ferencvaros in the summer. He was able to reunite with fellow Hungarian and £60m summer signing Dominik Szoboszlai^[8].

The 36-year-old even met with another former reserve goalkeeper Andy Lonergan, who is now at Everton, at a motorway service station on the way up to watch another of his former teams Hibernian against Celtic.

Bogdan has previously stated he hopes to enter coaching^[9] once confirming his retirement, much like Barton has done since finishing his career in 2017.

References

1. ^{^} Everton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^{^} 5-1 triumph over Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Chelsea have only themselves to blame as Liverpool enjoy last laugh on Moises Caicedo transfer (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Alisson chooses his best Premier League moment and it's not the West Brom goal (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Jurgen Klopp (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Liverpool (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Bogdan (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Dominik Szoboszlai (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
9. ^{^} previously stated he hopes to enter coaching (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)