Liverpool are set to allow academy striker Oakley Cannonier, a prolific goalscorer well-known for being the ball boy against Barcelona, to leave the club this month.
Cannonier has been at Liverpool since the age of 11, and was top scorer in the U18 Premier League in a 2021/22 campaign that also saw him debut for the U21s.
But the striker’s game time has been limited ever since, making just 26 appearances and only 13 starts in the last two-and-a-half seasons, with persistent injuries hampering his progress.
That has seen Cannonier, now 20, struggle to eclipse his reputation as the ball boy who handed Trent Alexander-Arnold the ball for his quickly taken corner as Divock Origi scored against Barcelona in 2019.
Having only played four times so far this season, the decision has been made to allow Cannonier to seek a move elsewhere.
He is currently on trial at boyhood club Leeds and played half an hour off the bench for their U21s in a 2-1 loss to West Ham on Monday night.
Cannonier is spending the week with the club he left for Liverpool in 2015, in the hope of earning a permanent move back to West Yorkshire – almost certainly on a free transfer.
His contract with the Reds is understood to run for another year-and-a-half, but the club would likely waive those remaining terms to allow the youngster to depart in search of regular football.
The striker has two younger brothers, Harley and Barkley, also on the books in Liverpool’s academy and it remains to be seen whether any move for the family impacts their own futures.
Liverpool have already sanctioned free transfers for two other youth players this month, with Marcelo Pitaluga returning to Fluminense in Brazil and Tom Hill embarking on his senior career with League Two side Harrogate.
Others may be encouraged to explore moves elsewhere in the coming months, with it not uncommon that clubs will allow youngsters to head out on trial.
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