The record for Liverpool’s youngest-ever player has not been broken since 2012 – but the holder, Jerome Sinclair, is currently playing in a YouTube league.
Sinclair’s post-Liverpool career has failed to live up to the promise of his record-breaking debut, but he has looked to make the most of his opportunities outside of football.
In a rare update at the start of 2023, The Athletic‘s James Pearce reported that the striker had branched out into business, including as the owner of a branch of the Morley’s chain of chicken shops in his hometown of Birmingham.
His last competitive outing in football came in 2021, while on loan from Watford at CSKA Sofia, having previously spent time with Birmingham, Sunderland, Oxford United and VVV-Venlo.
An unsuccessful trial with Oxford United in 2022 appears his last foray into professional football, though he has not stepped away from the game altogether.
Now 28, Sinclair has been included as one of a number of current and former pros involved in the inaugural UK version of the Baller League.
The Baller League is a six-a-side indoor football tournament which will be broadcast on Sky Sports and documented on YouTube, with Liverpool’s youngest-ever player representing VZN FC alongside Henri Lansbury, who last played for Luton.
Jordon Ibe, once Sinclair’s teammate at Liverpool, is also involved as part of 26ers, with Marvin Sordell, Adrian Mariappa, Ciaran Clark and Michael Hector other notable names.
Sinclair broke a record held for over two years by Jack Robinson when he came off the bench in a 2-1 win over former club West Brom in the League Cup in 2012.
He was aged 16 years and six days, with three other players eclipsing Robinson’s record (16 years, 250 days) since but none doing so at a younger age than Sinclair.
Rio Ngumoha (16 years, 135 days), Harvey Elliott (16 years, 174 days) and Trey Nyoni (16 years, 243 days) make up the rest of Liverpool’s top five.
It seems unlikely that Sinclair’s record will be broken any time soon, given how soon after his 16th birthday he was trusted to feature under Brendan Rodgers.
The striker only went on to play five times for Liverpool’s first team, including a first and only start against Exeter City in the FA Cup in 2016 – scoring in the 12th minute of a 2-2 draw.
His chances dwindled amid criticism from Jurgen Klopp over his wage demands in talks over a new contract, and Sinclair eventually left to join Watford at the end of 2015/16 for a compensation fee of £4 million.
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