Jurgen Klopp has hailed the ability of the younger players he has called upon during the early stages of pre-season.
The summer can often provide opportunities for youth prospects to showcase their talents and Liverpool’s trip to Germany has been no exception so far.
The Reds kicked off preparations for 2023/24 with a 4-2 win over Karlsruher and the manager lauded the performances of what he described as “the kids” after the match.
“We saw the kids how good they were. James [McConnell] never played a six before and today he played there and it was so nice to watch, to be honest. Bobby [Clark] first half did really well,” said Klopp.
“Ben Doak, oh my God, it’s much fun to watch these kids. Calum [Scanlon] I’ve known him only nine days, he was injured before and now he was there. [Lewis] Koumas came on, Conor Bradley really good.
“The kids are really good and the others are really good already, we know that. Some of them might need to get through little holes here and then now because it’s really tough for them of course.”
Klopp is always effusive of his praise for the club’s youngsters, building them up and making them feel part of the senior squad, but there is a real feeling that in Doak and Bradley in particular Liverpool have some quality coming through.
Doak already has five first-team appearances to his name and was given predictably warm praise from Klopp after his latest showing against the German side.
Bradley and Clark were both trusted from the start by the boss, with the former having recently returned from a successful loan spell at Bolton and the latter registering 22 Premier League 2 appearances for the Reds last season.
McConnell netted five times in 13 U18 Premier League appearances last season, with Scanlon notching two assists from his seven outings from left-back.
17-year-old forward Koumas scored an impressive 12 times in 13 appearances in the same competition in 2022/23 and is already showing signs of a bright future ahead.
The youngsters will be hoping to get another opportunity to shine on Monday night when Liverpool come up against Greuther Furth in the second and final friendly of the Germany tour.
