Liverpool academy forward Luis Longstaff has joined Scottish third-tier club Queen’s Park on a season-long loan, giving the 20-year-old a chance to play regularly.
Longstaff has been with the Reds since his move from Newcastle in 2015, and has been a reliable staple of the club’s youth sides throughout his six years on Merseyside.
But having turned 20 in February, the versatile forward has been in need of regular first-team football in order to launch his career as a senior professional.
Left out of the squad for the first three games of the under-23s’ campaign, Longstaff and his representatives were given permission to seek a temporary club for 2021/22.
A deal has now been completed with Scottish League One side Queen’s Park, with the youngster due to spend the rest of the campaign working under Laurie Ellis.
It is Longstaff’s first loan move, with the Glasgow outfit acquiring a talent once compared to Mesut Ozil by coaches at youth international level.
While largely operating as an attacking midfielder or winger throughout his time in the academy so far, more recently Longstaff has filled in as a No. 9, explaining in May of last year that he looks up to Roberto Firmino.
“He is not really an out-and-out, in-the-box, big, strong No. 9 and neither am I, so he is a good role model to look up to and see how he plays,” he told LiverpoolFC.com.
“I have tried to model my game similar to how he plays.
“I’m not big and 6’5″ who is going to score lots of headed goals, so you’ve got to try to find different ways to do it, and I think Firmino is a good example of how he does that.”
It remains to be seen which role Longstaff will play at Firhill, but he can be expected to take up a regular starting spot in Scotland.
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