Liverpool’s youth pathway is second to none and has honed the talent of generational players, a trend that will continue long into the future. And James Milner has name-checked two to watch.
Jurgen Klopp embraces the adage that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough and Reds have witnessed just that with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott – to name just a few.
And there’s new talent coming off the production line who have been given their chances, rubbing shoulders with the first team and getting their chances on the pitch.
This season alone, Klopp has handed out five debuts to young players, including Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark, two players who Milner believes will go on to become “top players.”
They’ve combined for seven appearances so far and were part of Liverpool’s recent training camp in Dubai, both taking the chance to impress in midfield.
Incredibly, Milner played with Clark’s dad, Lee, at Newcastle in 2005 – 17 years before he played alongside Bobby against Bournemouth in August. Talk about longevity.
In a talk over golf and darts with former goalkeeper Ben Foster on Amazon Prime, Milner discussed the young Reds he feels has the ability to make it, having made his debut at 16 for Leeds.
“We had Woody [Ben Woodburn] a few years ago who scored so young, and that was weird because it was against Leeds,” Milner explained.
“Alan Smith before me at Leeds scored with his first touch at the Kop end at Liverpool so that was sort of a weird moment.
“Then, obviously, Trent’s come in and done what he’s done.
“At the moment we’ve got a young lad Stefan [Bajcetic], midfielder, done really well and come on in a few games.
“We’ve got Bobby Clark, I played with his dad. Eighteen years between I came off the bench with Lee Clark at Newcastle and then this year I came off the bench with his son!
“Which doesn’t make you feel old at all…
“Every young lad is different. You want these guys to be comfortable to come in and play their best football.
“Harvey [Elliott], you forget how young he is and Fabio Carvalho – still young guys, great ability.
“They’ll all be top players, for sure.”
Both Bajcetic, who has five senior appearances, and Clark, two appearances, are in with a strong chance to feature against Man City on Thursday and they will be full of confidence having made strides forward in Dubai.
“In these 10, 11 days, the kids especially, everybody made a real step forward,” Klopp said of the club’s youngsters after the warm weather training camp during the World Cup break.
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