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Liverpool have done a fair bit of business this summer, and a portion of that has been committed to bringing in players that will ideally have an impact both now and in the future. Divock Origi, Lazar Markovic, Emre Can, and Javier Manquillo were all brought in with a view for the long-term, and there's a clear understanding that their most profound impact will come later in their career. And hopefully while they're still at Liverpool.
And while that applies to Emre Can, there's also the sense that most are expecting him to be a significant part of the now as well. His preseason performances certainly have aided the impression that he's going to be able to contribute in a significant way this season--an early injury limited his time, but since returning against Roma he's been involved in nearly every impressive Liverpool display of the summer, and he looks set to play an important part in Liverpool's midfield.
He's at least playing the part off the pitch so far, noting his confidence in Liverpool's return to the Champions League and the collective anticipation around the club:
"I am really confident about us going into the Champions League this season. The whole team, the whole club and the city is looking forward to getting back in the Champions League because Liverpool haven't played there for a couple of years. I had the pleasure of playing in the Champions League last year with my old club and it's a special thing to play in the Champions League."
That's four different usages of "Champions League" if you're scoring at home, and I think this indicates that he means business. Or he got nervous and kept repeating it because he had nothing else to say and whoever was interviewing him kept asking the same stupid question over and over again. Either way, all signs point to Emre Can fitting well into this Liverpool squad, both domestically and in Europe.
We'll see some indication of where he fits tomorrow, but the real litmus test should come against Southampton next Sunday--not a side in Europe, obviously, but that's not necessarily where Can's going to be expected to make his mark. If he can build upon his promising preseason performances and add strength to Liverpool's midfield, he's got every reason to be confident regardless of the competition.
