Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has praised youngsters Stefan Bajcetic, Bobby Clark and Ben Doak, revealing how Jurgen Klopp was wowed.
The Reds are back in action on Thursday night as they visit Man City in the Carabao Cup, and it will be interesting when the teamsheets are released.
As the first game back from the World Cup break, Klopp is likely to field a number of key players as they rebuild rhythm, but the competition is often used to reward the club’s youth.
In his pre-match press conference, Lijnders admitted as much, explaining that “age is just a number” when it comes to the Liverpool staff.
Stefan Bajcetic is expected to start with Fabinho on the bench, while the assistant manager’s comments in the buildup suggest roles for Bobby Clark and Ben Doak, too.
“Yesterday we trained – the session was insane, it was really cool – and I walked off the pitch with Jurgen,” Lijnders explained.
“He just stands next to me and whispers ‘wow, Stefan and Bobby Clark – they play so mature! They play like they are 25!’.
“And I say immediately, ‘and Ben Doak‘. Can you imagine if he was a signing? If he would do what he’s doing in the session?
“You all see he’s very quick, but if you are very quick and technical, that makes a really dangerous player.
“He learns as well really quick, it’s really nice to see because sometimes you can be really quick, really good with your feet, but if you don’t learn…
“But he adapts really quickly to our style. We are just really happy with three young ‘signings’.
“Then I have to pay a compliment to [head of senior academy recruitment] Matt Newbury, because he is our academy scout and he brings these players in.
“Nobody hears about them before and it’s not announced as a big signing, but the boys he brings in…
“It’s not easy, because the boy leaves Celtic, goes to a different part [of the UK], Liverpool, or Stefan goes from Celta de Vigo to here, they leave their country, they leave their family, they come really young into our academy.
“So the next ones who come, hopefully that helps as well, that we want to give these boys chances.
“Ben, I like that combination of speed, mentality and technique, and he has all three.”
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