By Matthew Burgess
The New Saints will face Liverpool’s youngsters as part of their ongoing preparations for their UEFA Europa League qualifying campaign.
The Cymru Premier runners-up have been back in pre-season training for three weeks ahead of their latest European campaign which is scheduled to begin on August 27 and will test their progress against the Premier League champions’ under-23 side.
Along with facing the Merseyside club, Saints will also take in preparation games against fellow Welsh European qualifying clubs Bala Town and Barry Town, as well as fixtures with AFC Telford and Wolves under-23’s.
The New Saints (seeded) and Bala Town (unseeded) will discover their first qualifying round opponents on August 10.
Saints have so far bolstered their squad with the signings of highly rated Caernarfon Town midfielder Leo Smith and Bala Town forward Louis Robles.
A handful of academy players have also been promoted into the first-team set-up giving the side a new flavour for the new season.
Leo Smith wedi symud o Gaernarfon i’r Seintiau@tnsfc have signed midfielder @LeoCarlos98 from Caernarfon Town
👍 👋 👍 pic.twitter.com/l1sovWyLgl
— ⚽ Sgorio (@sgorio) June 30, 2020
Scholarship players Josh Bailey, Louis Bradford, Beau Cornish and Robbie Williams have all stepped-up.
Promising youngster Lewis Rees has inked his first professional deal with the club after making his senior debut last season, while another hotly-tipped prospect, David Lyons, joins the side from Cymru South outfit Caerau Ely.
First-team regulars Aeron Edwards, Kurtis Byrne, Josh Hmami, Kane Lewis and Joash Nembhard have all departed the club.
Unseeded Barry Town will face one of six potential opponents in the Europa League preliminary round on August 20.
Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar), FC Santa Coloma (Andorra), B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands), La Fiorita (San Marino), Tre Penne (San Marino), NSI Runavik (Faroe Islands), HB Torshavn (Faroe Islands) and Engordany (Andorra) are the seeded clubs.
Meanwhile, the club have announced the re-signing of central defender Luke Cooper.
The 27-year-old made 24 appearances for the Linnets last season.
