Thriving in a pair of loan moves this season, Liverpool’s Brazilian midfielder Allan Rodrigues has caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp.
Allan made the £500,000 move from Internacional last summer, and has since spent time on loan with Finnish side SJK and Belgian Pro League outfit Sint-Truiden, where he will remain for the rest of the season.
Having met with Klopp at Liverpool’s Melwood training facility at the end of October, Allan made an instant impression.
The 19-year-old’s quality in a variety of midfield roles has seen him earn his first call-up to Brazil’s U20s squad this week, taking part in a training camp in Rio de Janeiro.
That call-up should help him gain a work permit.
Allan will play a role under Klopp in the future, with the German heaping praise on the youngster this week.
“When I came here, one or two months later Allan was here and I said ‘who is this?’,” he recalled.
“I saw him in training and I thought ‘oh my God, what can we do to keep this boy here and bring him into the line-up?’
“He’s 19 years old, an outstanding talent, a good player with a good attitude, everybody loves him, he’s a nice lad—so that’s really, really good. He’s a smart player.
“There is no chance in this moment here because he can’t get the permission to play here, so we have to send him out on loan.
“We sent him to Belgium and he did well, really well until now. We had no doubts about this, it was a good transfer for both sides.”
Allan has made six appearances for Sint-Truiden so far this season, including three starts, but with Chris O’Loughlin’s side enduring a poor run of form in 2016, his fortunes have been relatively muted.
Nevertheless, joining up with Rogerio Micale’s U20s squad this week is a marker of Allan’s progress, and Klopp believes this can prove influential as he continues his development.
“Now for the first time he has got an invitation for the national U20 team, and that’s great,” he continued.
“It’s really deserved because he’s an outstanding talent.
“Everybody has seen him, but it’s not too easy to have a lot of pictures of him because most of the time he has played in other countries.
“We hope we can find a solution in the future because he will be a fixed part of the squad in the future, for sure.
“Now he uses this time to improve and the next step to the U20 national team of Brazil is a great story.”
Allan’s progress through the Brazilian ranks could aid his push to secure a work permit to turn out for Liverpool in the future, and Klopp will be hoping this is the case.
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