Pedro Chirivella has suggested he is open to extending his contract with Liverpool after returning to the first-team fold and playing four times so far this season.
The Spaniard had been out of the picture since the end of the 2015/16 campaign, with his last appearance before the current campaign being an ill-fated start at Swansea.
That day saw him substituted at half-time, perhaps harshly, with Jurgen Klopp explaining after the game that he “forgot to orientate himself.”
“Today was not a game for [Pedro],” he continued. “[But] it’s only one game in his long, long football career.”
Chirivella has since spent loan spells with Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II, before an administrative error on his half-season switch Extremadura UD last year saw him go without football and seemingly dashed hopes of any future at Liverpool.
But now the 22-year-old is a regular in training at Melwood, featured in every League Cup game and produced a Man of the Match performance against Everton in the FA Cup.
Though a place in the matchday squad in the Premier League has so far eluded Chirivella, the club have begun talks over a new contract—with his current deal set to expire in the summer—ahead of a possible loan to the Championship.
“We are talking to the club to see if we can come to an agreement,” Chirivella told La Provincias this week.
“I came in without playing and this season I had to keep my head down and not complain, because it is very difficult to come into the best team in the world.
“And in the time I’ve had, I have been at a good level.”
However, whether an agreement will be reached is still unclear, with Chirivella explaining that he has requested to continue playing with the under-23s “because playing the cup matches once a month does not work for me.”
He reflected on “many ups and downs” during his time with the club, with injuries impacting his progress in his debut season, but said he is feeling “very well” this term.
Chirivella also spoke on his affinity with Liverpool as a city, saying “my girlfriend and I live in a flat in the centre and we like to walk on the banks of the Mersey in good weather.”
But his assertion that there is “not much” good weather, and that he misses “the light of Valencia,” could indicate his enduring desire to return to Spain.
Much would likely depend on the offer of game time at Liverpool, and whether Chirivella impresses Klopp in training, but it would seem a loan to the Championship would maybe benefit him in the long run.
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