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LFC Reserves & Youth Team Goals/Highlights


His 2 goals yesterday. Could have got a hattrick but for the penalty miss which would've been the equalizer.



Leading top scorer in the U18 PL, scoring in all his league appearances.

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Scotland and Liverpool star Tom Clayton on Steven Gerrard influence, possible loan move and Andy Robertson inspiration

[article]In Tom Clayton, Scot Gemmill has someone in his Scotland Under-21 squad who has learned and trained with the best and been labelled a “leader” by his Liverpool Under-23 boss Barry Lewtas.

The 21-year-old qualifies for Scotland through his gran and is a regular captain for the Premier League 2 side
, whether it is marshalling the defence or patrolling the midfield.

He is “a really important player”, according to boss Lewtas who sung his praises earlier in the campaign, talking up his maturity, versatility, consistency and quality, while noting how he helps the development of team-mates.

For the player, he looks up to two stars who are very familiar to Scottish football fans having trained with them for the first-team under the watchful eye of Jurgen Klopp.

“On the occasions I have got up there, it is unbelievable,” he said, ahead of facing Kazakhstan in a European Under 21 Championship qualifier at Tannadice on Friday.

“You just need to look at them for five minutes and you’ll learn so much about how they train and apply themselves.

"Andy Robertson definitely is one, Virgil [van Dijk] is another — just the way he drives the session. He is like a coach on the pitch during the session.

"Those are guys you can look to and say: ‘I’ll take a lot from that’.”


On Robertson, he said: “At first, you just see him running — he is really intense in his running and you don’t want to be left behind, with him out on his own.

"But he is vocal too. He is not afraid to speak out, encourage you and tell you if you have done something wrong.

"There is definitely a step up from the U23s to first-team and there is going to be a jump in level, but he will always encourage you and help you in any way possible.”


A key figure in Clayton’s career so far has been Steven Gerrard who handed him his debut at under-18 level.

For the player, he can see him becoming a Liverpool manager “happening” and finds it no “surprise” that he is wanted by Aston Villa.

"I was a first year scholar when I found out Steven [Gerrard] was going to be our manager,” he said.

"He brought a real buzz to the place and he had a lot of belief in me. He gave me a lot of confidence and I can’t speak highly enough of him.

“Steven Gerrard is a legend but I don’t think you realise how big he is until you go places with him. On tour, you see the attention he gets and you think ‘wow, this guy is special’.

"He has that special aura around the place. When he speaks, you listen.”


He added: “He is hands-on with a lot of players. Steven’s pedigree is second-to-none and he can help you, no matter what position you play. Centre-backs; full-backs; wide players — his overall knowledge of the game is unbelievable.”

Clayton signed a contract extension in April but is yet to make a first-team appearance for Liverpool and has revealed a loan deal appeals to him to gain that experience.

"Definitely," he said. “That is something that is on my mind. We’ll need to see what happens and what the club has in mind.

"It’s not only up to me. There are other people involved.”
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I want to hear more about Wellity Lucky

His full name is Wellity Lucky Omoruyi :D

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Conor Bradley talks about his Liverpool debut, inspiring Mo Salah and what he hopes to achieve in the future
[article]He's a down-to-earth yet talented teenage footballer who is living out his boyhood dream, but Conor Bradley still pinches himself when he shares the first-team facilities with Mo Salah at Liverpool's Melwood training ground.

"Any time I'm with the first team I go to the gym and he's already in there doing his core work or stretching," an admiring Bradley told Sky Sports News ahead of another chance to impress with Northern Ireland.

"It's just a little thing, but it's why he's one of the best in the world. He works so hard. It's an inspiration for me that if you want to be one of the best you have to train like it and act like it."


The 18-year-old attended his first Liverpool game as a supporter in 2014 when his favourite player growing up, Luis Suarez, was on target along with Steven Gerrard and a Daniel Sturridge double in a 4-0 Merseyside derby win over Everton.

"I remember walking into the stands at Anfield just taking it all in. My early memory of Liverpool winning was the League Cup against Cardiff in 2012," Bradley said.

He is too young to remember the famous Istanbul Champions League final but was fortunate to see them win the tournament when they beat Tottenham in 2019.

He trained with like likes of Salah and Virgil van Dijk at 16, a "pretty surreal" experience, and earlier this year he struggled to contain his delight when given a senior debut at Norwich in the Carabao Cup.

"We had a meeting and Jurgen named the starting team. I did manage to keep the excitement in check but only just," he recalls in an enthusiastic tone.

"Andy Robertson was helpful before the match. He told me to play my normal game and Jurgen encouraged me to be brave and don't always play the safe pass.

"Even when we play as full backs our main job is to create chances and put crosses in the box."

Klopp believes the versatile youngster can play in a central midfield position in addition to being a right-back or wing-back.

"You never know when Ian Baraclough or Jurgen will call upon me so I like to play any position I'm told," Conor said.

"I try and take as much as I can when training with the first team. With people like Trent and Neco (Williams) it's about taking bits of their game and adding to mine."

"I want to maximise the talent I've got. I love the way you have to work hard and earn the right to play. That's my main ethos as a player and that's what Liverpool is."

So how does he stop himself from getting carried away in a year he's faced Norwich, Preston, Switzerland twice and Bulgaria in competitive games?

"My mum and dad keep my feet on the ground. My mum advises me not to be influenced by social media and just play my own game, [she says] I'm nothing yet and she's right."

Bradley is still developing physically but it has not prevented him enjoying that side of the game - as demonstrated in his competitive Northern Ireland debut against Switzerland when he crunched into a tackle on Torino's Ricardo Rodriguez, an action that immediately endeared him to the home supporters.

"I went on a wee dribble and lost it which led to the tackle! I'm fearless, I enjoy going into tackles and love creating chances for my team mates."

"Ian will give young players a chance. He's given me and Dale Taylor a go and shown real trust in me. Having a manager like him is great and I know there is talent in the 21s and 19s."

Bradley was a ball boy at Windsor Park for Northern Ireland's 3-1 defeat against Germany in 2017 and vividly remembers how "the atmosphere was unbelievable."

Last week the Republic of Ireland's U21 manager Jim Crawford revealed they were interested in securing Bradley, who needs one more competitive cap to secure his future with Baraclough's side.

"It's been unreal. It's my third or fourth camp and I've enjoyed every single one of them. The boys are great with me. I look up to the likes of Steven Davis and Stuart Dallas.

"The next coming years I'd love to be starting for Northern Ireland, trying to hold down the right back spot but I know it'll be difficult because there are a few good players that can play there."

Whether it's name checking his old youth coach Roy Lynch, singing the praises of the Club NI scheme, the coaches at Liverpool, or even laughing off the story about a referee recommending him to Dungannon after seeing him in a kids game, you get the sense Bradley is taking it all in his stride.

His early memories of football were watching Lionel Messi on TV dazzling in a Champions League game against Arsenal. His mum is a runner - "I think I take my attributes from her" - and his brother is a rally car driver. Bradley himself takes a keen interest in F1, enjoying the rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The Tyrone teenager is loving life in the fast lane.
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[article]Musialowski struggles continue

Mateusz Musialowski continues to endure mixed fortunes since making the step up to Under-23s football.

The Pole was one of the shining lights at Under-18s level
, rivalling Mohamed Salah in goal of the month contests to regularly demonstrate why his name carries such excitement from Liverpool’s latest young crop.

Three goals from eight appearances at this level, including an eye-catching display against Arsenal at Anfield, is a respectable return.

But since returning from injury at the start of the month, the 18-year-old has found life tougher.

Utilised upfront in a 3-0 defeat to West Ham before the international break, he was ineffectual against Crystal Palace as he lined up on the right for the first time, having previously shone on the left.

Being left-footed, you’d think he find such a transition straight-forward with inverted forward so prominent in modern football, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane two prime examples.

Yet he ultimately got lost in such a role against a physical side, repeatedly cutting inside or turning into bodies on the rare occasions he was on the ball and losing possession.

Perhaps such rawness would explain why the 18-year-old remains with the Under-23s while Kaide Gordon warms the Anfield bench, with the Pole having plenty more learning still to do.

That doesn’t take away from his potential and why he caused such excitement with the Under-18s last year, but he still has more to do at this level if he is to consistently catch Klopp’s eye.[/article]
 

[article]Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher knew what he had seen. And just like every other observer, he was hugely impressed.

"A teenager who has come through the Academy, pulling the strings in midfield at the San Siro," he said.


"Take a bow Tyler Morton. The San Siro, I played there only once in my late 20s and for me it was unbelievable, and he is only 19 playing in a game like that where they have won. I thought he was outstanding."

What could have been a nerve-jangling experience at AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday was instead taken in the stride of the midfielder, who has been the breakthrough star from the Academy this season.

Morton has long been touted as a potential first-teamer when first making his way through the junior ranks of his boyhood club, who he has been associated with since the age of seven.

His rate of progress this year, though, has been astonishing.

Barely 12 months ago, Morton was making his debut for the under-23s having shone at U18 level. In January, he scored a sublime goal in the mini-derby against Everton, and was then part of the team that reached the FA Youth Cup final.

Impressing with the Liverpool first-team during pre-season led to a senior debut in the second half of the Carabao Cup win at Norwich City, with a first start in the triumph at Preston North End in the next round.

Europe, however, is the perfect illustration of his rise. In late September, Morton featured in the UEFA Youth League at Porto with his fine searching pass picking out Melkamu Frauendorf to score a late equaliser.

Fast forward two months, he was making his full Champions League bow in the Anfield win over the Portuguese outfit's senior team, given an opportunity thanks to the superlative work of Jurgen Klopp's regulars in securing early qualification to the knockout stages.

Perhaps a reason behind Morton's eagerness to make an instant impact comes from previously missing out on a key development phase. A knee injury meant he barely featured at U16 level, making it imperative he shone with the U18s.

And while Morton's first-team introduction as a defensive midfielder may have come a surprise given his more advanced role in the Academy sides, the player - born three years after veteran Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his senior debut - has always seen himself more of an all-rounder.

"I'm more of a box-to-box midfielder," said Morton earlier this year. "I love a tackle - you don't get many tackles in a game, so when people see it, it's a shock! - but me personally I've seen loads of them!

"I'm not just a playmaker. I like to think I can do a bit of everything."

With the Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Leicester City in a fortnight followed by the start of Liverpool's FA Cup campaign next month, there will be further opportunities for Morton.

He wasn't the only youngster to enjoy a landmark moment in the San Siro, Conor Bradley introduced in injury time for his third senior outing alongside Max Woltman, the 18-year-old striker making his first-team bow.

Ten of the 23 players in the matchday squad in Tuesday's 2-1 win had come through the Academy while six - Morton, Woltman, Neco Williams, Harvey Davies, James Norris and Trent Alexander-Arnold - had been with the club since pre-Academy level.

For everyone at Kirkby - from the likes of Academy manager Alex Inglethorpe, lead coaches Barry Lewtas and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and pre-Academy recruitment heads Ian Barrigan and Steve Gorst - it is the ultimate vindication of their methods, with elite development coach Vitor Matos helping draw the right talents to the attention of Klopp.

And it doesn't end there. Even without a clutch of usual starters on Tuesday, Liverpool U19s drew 1-1 in MIlan and have once again won their group in the UEFA Youth League, a competition in which the likes of Williams, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott have previously shone and where Kaide Gordon, Mateusz Musialowski and Owen Beck are among those catching the eye this time around.

Few are the Academy players who can eventually blossom into a first-team regular and save millions in transfer fees in the process.

But the success of the first team under Klopp - along with the work of the Academy staff and the greater integration since the seniors' move from Melwood to the new £50m Kirkby complex - means they are being given every chance right now.[/article]
 
Liverpool teenager Conor Bradley hails 'dream come true' after Champions League debut

[article]
Liverpool teenager Conor Bradley shared a handshake with Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic after realising a lifelong dream against AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday night.

The Northern Ireland teenager was a late substitute in Italy as Jurgen Klopp’s men ended their Champions League group campaign with a perfect return of six wins from six.

And the highly-rated right back capped off a memorable night when he exchanged post-match pleasantries with former Barcelona, PSG and Manchester United striker Ibrahimovic.

On Instagram, Bradley - a late replacement for Neco Williams - hailed his European bow as a “proud moment for me and my family!”

The 18-year-old, who had made just two Carabao Cup appearances for Liverpool before his outing in Europe, added: “Dreams come true.”



Anfield teammate Williams led the tributes on social media, the Welsh defender joking: “Congrats skinny” with two fire emojis.

Bradley’s Northern Ireland teammates were also quick to congratulate the teenager, with Jordan Jones writing: “Unbelievable mate.”

Sunderland midfielder Corry Evans posted “congrats mate” with an applause emoji while Stoke City’s Jordan Thompson said: “Superb mate”.

Young Liverpool goalkeeper Liam Hughes, who has also been a part of Ian Baraclough’s senior squad in recent months, wrote: “Love it.”

It has been a meteoric rise so far for Bradley who was rewarded with a long term contract with the Premier League giants in July.

The versatile right back made his Northern Ireland debut in May, winning the first of his five caps to date as a late replacement for Stuart Dallas in a 3-0 win over Malta in Austria.

The County Tyrone native, who joined Liverpool from Dungannon United in 2019, made his first competitive start for Northern Ireland in a 2-1 defeat to Bulgaria in a World Cup qualifier in Sofia in October.
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