In Focus: 'Scottish Rooney' among young Liverpool stars to watch
Liverpool have always believed in giving young players a chance.
The current first-team squad includes Calvin Ramsay and Harvey Elliott, who are both 19, while Fabio Carvalho only turned 20 in August.
There is also a fresh crop of starlets beginning to get first-team minutes pushing to become regular starters.
With the January transfer window about to open, we turn the spotlight on some Anfield starlets that could save the club a fortune.
Bobby Clark
Bobby Clark — the son of the former Newcastle midfielder Lee — was on the books at St James' Park before Liverpool negotiated a fee of £1.5million to bring him to Anfield in the summer of 2021.
In February 2022, having just turned 17, Clark signed a five-year professional contract with the promise of a pathway to the first team.
A debut followed as a substitute in the 9-0 win over Bournemouth this season, while Clark’s first start came in a Carabao Cup tie against Derby in November.
Over the weekend a stunning drilled pass from Clark that set up Darwin Nunez in the 4-1 friendly victory against AC Milan went viral.
We seem set to see more from him soon with Preston reportedly keen on bringing him to the Championship on loan.
Stefan Bajcetic
Another player that featured in the friendly against AC Milan was Spanish teenager Stefan Bajcetic.
Yet while Clark and other youngsters had to come off the bench, Bajcetic started in the heart of Liverpool’s midfield alongside ten established first-team squad members.
This followed a start in the Carabao Cup match against Derby and four substitute appearances, which included three in the Champions League. Jurgen Klopp clearly has faith in the defensive midfielder.
Also able to play as a centre-back, Liverpool signed Bajcetic from Celta Vigo for a fee of £250,000 in 2020. Everything points to that being a shrewd bit of business.
Conor Bradley
While some Liverpool youngsters are getting minutes and developing at Anfield, others are learning on the job elsewhere.
With the 19-year-old right-back Ramsay having been signed from Aberdeen in the summer, fellow full-back Conor Bradley moved on in search of minutes.
Also 19, he signed on loan with Bolton in June and has made the most of the opportunity. As the right wing-back in Ian Evatt’s 3-4-3 formation, Bradley has scored six goals and assisted five in 26 appearances.
Those numbers have attracted the attention of Championship clubs looking to hijack the loan but it looks as if he is staying put for now.
Bradley made five appearances for Liverpool last season and has already won ten caps for Northern Ireland.
Kaide Gordon
Another teenager who made his first-team breakthrough last season was Kaide Gordon.
Signed from Derby in 2021 for a fee that could rise as high as £3m, Gordon made four appearances last season.
This included an FA Cup third round match against Shrewsbury, in which he levelled the scoring before the Reds ran out as 4-1 winners.
Starting the game on the right wing, Gordon took control of the ball in a crowded box and deftly made space for himself before calmly slotting home with his left foot.
In doing so, he not only evoked Mohamed Salah, but also became Liverpool’s youngest ever FA Cup scorer.
Gordon’s progress was halted in February by a long-term pelvic injury. The 18-year old is expected to be back in action in 2023.
Ben Doak
While Gordon has been out, another exciting young winger has grabbed the attention at Liverpool.
Ben Doak made his debut for Celtic at just 16, but two substitute appearances were not enough to keep him in Scotland and he signed for Liverpool in March 2022. The club paid £600,000 in compensation.
Now 17, Doak made his debut as a 74th-minute substitute against Derby in the Carabao Cup.
He then came on in the recent friendly matches against Lyon and AC Milan, replacing Salah on both occasions and catching the eye with his dribbling ability.
With four goals in the UEFA Youth League this season, Doak is making the most of any chances to impress.
His agent is the former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara. Though no doubt biased, there might be something in McNamara’s description of Doak as a Scottish Wayne Rooney.