Liverpool are engaged with a perpetual tussle with Manchester United for the crown as England’s most successful and illustrious outfit.
The past decade has seen the pendulum swing toward Anfield, but Jurgen Klopp’s shock decision to step down from his manager’s position at the end of the 2023/24 campaign sent a frisson of fear coursing through Merseyside.
Was this the end of the golden days? Would the Reds emulate their Manchester rivals in capitulating after years of prosperity, and dominance at the summit of English and European football? It was a palpable fear, for sure, but FSG are shrewd and savvy, and appear to have set Liverpool up for an exciting new era.
Arne Slot has inherited a first-team crop of immense talent, but he’s also got lots of youthful potential hoping to break into the team and become the next Steven Gerrard, the next Trent Alexander-Arnold.
It’s important that the Anfield side don’t lose track of some of these high-class hopefuls, lest a repeat of the Anthony Gordon situation occur.
When Liverpool lost Anthony Gordon
In the summer, Newcastle United were scrambling to pacify the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, which they were in danger of breaching, and very much appeared to be staring down the barrel of the gun.
Liverpool held an interest in Gordon, who had once been a part of the club during his formative years, before moving to Everton. It looked like it might happen, and Liverpool would bring one of their own back home, but for the Toon unearthing alternative, less damaging means of receiving the green light.
Richard Hughes and Co clearly have a liking still, but Gordon isn’t going to be going anywhere soon after penning a new long-term deal with the Tyneside club in October.
It all could have been avoided, had more faith been entrusted in Gordon’s fledgling abilities way back when. The 23-year-old may have wanted to partake in a move to his boyhood club, but it’s frustrating that he was allowed to leave and join city rivals Everton instead.
Gordon made 78 displays for the Toffees before Newcastle completed a £45m acquisition in January 2023. The reward could have been lucrative, either on the market or the field. Liverpool must ensure the current crop are kept on the books for the foreseeable, given a chance to showcase their quality.
Liverpool's most exciting youngsters
‘Klopp’s Kids’. The remarkable bunch of academy stars became known as such last season, papering over the cracks during a Liverpool injury crisis and belying the whole quandary by helping the seniors lift the Carabao Cup and push for further honours.
While there has been something of a clearout since Slot arrived, Liverpool still boast a myriad of exciting options: with Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha and more looking to emulate last season’s success stories of Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah, both regular names in the matchday squad.
Of course, several stars have already made their mark at first-team level without yet cementing their place. Ben Doak, 19 is currently out on loan, while the 18-year-old Jayden Danns has not played for the first team this term due to injury, but the duo could become a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Slot's own Alexander Isak & Anthony Gordon
Gordon is one of the attacking superstars at Newcastle, but he probably doesn’t have the same stock as Alexander Isak, who has established himself as one of the Premier League’s foremost strikers in recent years.
Liverpool could do with a central striker of Isak’s ability. Darwin Nunez is a valuable player but lacks a clinical edge to partner his athletic and tenacious style.
Isak showed the Reds exactly what they were missing last week with his thunderous strike at St James’ Park and has now scored five goals and placed two assists across his last seven top-flight matches. Put simply, he would be the perfect focal point at the front of the ship for Slot’s side, but in the up-and-coming Danns, the Dutch coach might find that he has his own version.
Danns announced himself emphatically last season, scoring a brace against Southampton as Liverpool advanced to the FA Cup quarter-final last term, indeed playing at the epicentre of an injury crisis.
Talent scout Antonio Mango even praised the teenager’s “unplayable” attacking performance against the Saints, with the ease and elegance of his ball-striking surely bespeaking a skillset fit for purpose at the highest level.
Like Isak, the Reds youngster is a natural-born finisher. The Sweden international has scored 27 goals in the Premier League since the start of last season while missing just 27 chances in the same period.
Nunez, conversely, has only scored 13 top-flight goals since the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign, though has rather staggeringly missed 30 big chances.
Danns has that innate sense, and he could be a real menace if partnered with Doak, whose pace and power and creative spark would serve to fuse with the the centre-forward and provide Liverpool with a partnership for the ages.
Goals scored
0.24
0.09
Assists
0.08
0.44
Shot-creating actions
4.24
5.42
Pass completion
70%
77.8%
Progressive passes
2.45
2.93
Progressive carries
4.08
8.09
Successful take-ons
1.47
2.67
Ball recoveries
3.67
3.38
As you can see, it’s not like Doak’s not setting the foundation for an incredible career during his season-long stay with Middlesbrough, basically outperforming Gordon, a renowned Premier League dribbler and a playmaking ace besides.
Might Liverpool find themselves able to bypass the frustrating and taxing minutiae that comes with bringing Gordon back over to Merseyside from St. James’ Park, and instead unleash Doak in his place?
And could Slot rid his squad of Nunez at some point in the not-too-distant future and entrust Danns with bringing home the bacon? Perhaps he could.
In conjunction, the two talents could prove to be a stunning duo, every bit as menacing as the Magpies’.
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