Ian Ayre Confirms Summer 2016 USA Tour, Possible LA Galaxy Friendly

Liverpool fans hoping that players might get a summer off will be disappointed to learn that the club will once again be going on a pre-season tour next July as part of their preparations for the 2016/17 season. The destination is a familiar one, as it will be the club's third visit to the United States in five summers.

"We’ll come to the US next summer for certain," Ian Ayre confirmed on Tuesday to BBC Sport. "We don’t have any information of where. We always try to come here in the tournament years as we call them – Euros and World Cup – as the players come back a little bit later, it’s not so far. We try to balance with pre-season a very important time with manager and players, not travelling too far, great communication, great transport links. We’ve done it before and always get a great reception, so we look forward to it."

Ayre's hope is that Liverpool can spend more time on the west coast this time around, having spent the 2014 tour predominantly on the east coast of the United States. Boston has been a regular spot on the tour since Boston-based FSG purchased the club in 2010, but there hasn't been any word as to whether or not it would be included this time around. The only city Ayre was open to discussing was Los Angeles, for reasons that are readily apparent to any Liverpool fan.

"Absolutely, [a friendly against L.A. Galaxy is] something we have on our radar of ideas," Ayre enthused. "Steven [Gerrard] is back in Liverpool at the moment and I’m sure we’ll get a chance to catch up and see what he thinks about that as an idea.

"It’s brilliant we have Steven in the US market, he’s been such a great servant to Liverpool and for him to be here - hopefully telling people how great the club is, if they don’t already know. That can only be good for us."

Presumably Ayre will approach Gerrard as a football player rather than as a marketing tool for American audiences when making the ask about a mid-season friendly that many in MLS consider to be superfluous and disruptive, but it's hard to imagine Gerrard not being up to welcoming his old club into the home of his new club.

For Liverpool fans on the west coast, the news that the club will be focusing their efforts there will be very welcome, but with the tour unofficially being announced so far in advance, they'll have to wait a few more months for confirmed dates, locations, and all important ticketing information.