After Liverpool winger Ryan Kent signed a new five-year deal with the club on Thursday, Jurgen Klopp conceded the benefits of the loan system.
Kent spent the 2016/17 campaign with Barnsley in the Championship, making 47 appearances and earning the Tykes’ Young Player of the Season award in May.
But returning to Merseyside for pre-season, the 20-year-old looked unlikely to make the breakthrough under Klopp, considered behind the likes of Sheyi Ojo and Harry Wilson.
Having featured in seven of the Reds’ eight friendlies over the summer, however, Kent caught the eye, and went on to agree a long-term extension to his Liverpool contract.
Praising Kent on his new deal in his press conference on Friday morning, Klopp attested to the virtues of a well-placed loan move.
“Like all of them, of course,” he said when asked if Kent featured in his plans for 2017/18.
“That’s why we tried to show him why it makes sense for him to stay here for the longer term.
“But he’s still a young boy, so that’s good for him, it’s good for us. He looked much more mature in pre-season than he was a year ago.
“I’ve spoken a few times about how I’m not the president of the supporters’ club for loaning players, giving them to other clubs, especially at a very young age.
“I don’t think it will always work, but obviously he really took the benefit of it.
“It looked completely different, it was a really good pre-season for Ryan, so I’m happy that he’s signed a new contract.”
Kent has continued to train with the first team as they prepare for Saturday’s Premier League opener away to Watford.
And it could be that the young winger takes his place on the substitutes’ bench for the first time in the English top flight as Liverpool look for victory at Vicarage Road.
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