Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Liverpool have a ‘real talent’ coming through their ranks.
After last night’s convincing win over LASK, much of the focus has been on young centre-back Jarell Quansah, who was superb yet again.
But alongside the 20-year-old at Anfield on Thursday was another prospect who Liverpool have high hopes for. It has been a frustrating season for Conor Bradley so far, but against LASK he finally made his first appearance of the campaign – a late cameo with the Reds three goals to the good.
And speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Klopp ramped up expectations for the Northern Irishman, who came on alongside fellow young full-back Luke Chambers.
“I love that, they deserve it,” smiled the Liverpool boss. “Conor, just a few moments in the game but you can see immediately he’s a real talent, a real prospect for us, we really count on him.
“It’s so nice to see the boys, Luke as well. It’s cool, we could have brought Kaide Gordon who is finally back in full training and looks super in training, so there’s a lot of positives about that. But of course for Conor though, I told him after the game you enjoyed it? [He said] ‘Oh I missed it, I missed it so much!'”
Klopp back Bradley inclusion
It was only a short 10-minute performance from Bradley last night, but you can already see exactly what he’s all about.
Quick, direct and boundlessly energetic, the 20-year-old looks ready to be a genuine option now for Liverpool.
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To plenty, that will come as no surprise. Just a couple of weeks ago, Bradley’s Northern Ireland colleague and former teammate at Bolton Wanderers Dion Charles claimed that the right-back will soon be a regular for the Reds.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold in his way, that would seem unlikely, really. But there’s no question that Klopp now considers Bradley to be an alternative to the vice-captain.
Had he been fit, it’s likely that the former Bolton loanee would already have at least a handful of games under his belt this season.
That will have been disappointing for Bradley, but he’s coming back at a good time. With the festive period set to get underway, there’s plenty of games to get stuck into.
If he can translate his cameo from last night into full, 90-minute displays, then Klopp has the possibility to use him and rest Trent.
Alternatively, if he goes on to exceed expectations, then perhaps Alexander-Arnold will finally get the midfield spot he himself has been coveting. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but Jurgen’s certainly excited about this kid, and that means that we are too.