LFC Reserves & Youth Team Goals/Highlights
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Weird move by Ennis.
Newcastle United look set to sign Liverpool youngster Remi Savage after the defender turned down a new contract with his boyhood club to move to Tyneside
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Remi Savage has turned down a new contract at Liverpool to join Newcastle United.
Savage had originally been named on the retained list Liverpool submitted to the Premier League albeit the 19-year-old had the word 'offer' beside his name.
This was in reference to the one-year deal Liverpool are believed to have offered Savage to stay at Anfield - the Aigburth native is out of contract next month - but the defender has ultimately decided to leave his boyhood club.
Following 14 years on Liverpool's books, Savage looks set to join Newcastle in the hope he may eventually be able to make the breakthrough into the Magpies' first-team set-up.
Savage has already been busy preparing for the move and has been working with a personal trainer on Merseyside.
Savage, who can play at centre-back and left-back, is comfortable on the ball and has experience of playing at reserve team level for Liverpool.
The FA Youth Cup winner, who naturally idolises Virgil van Dijk, was previously handed his Liverpool's under-18s' debut by Steven Gerrard during the Reds legend's spell in charge.
Savage may have been playing for the under-16s at the time but Gerrard had seen enough in the youngster to throw him in against Wolves, and the defender duly repaid his manager's faith by scoring on his full debut.
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[article]
Remi Savage has turned down a new contract at Liverpool to join Newcastle United.
Savage had originally been named on the retained list Liverpool submitted to the Premier League albeit the 19-year-old had the word 'offer' beside his name.
This was in reference to the one-year deal Liverpool are believed to have offered Savage to stay at Anfield - the Aigburth native is out of contract next month - but the defender has ultimately decided to leave his boyhood club.
Following 14 years on Liverpool's books, Savage looks set to join Newcastle in the hope he may eventually be able to make the breakthrough into the Magpies' first-team set-up.
Savage has already been busy preparing for the move and has been working with a personal trainer on Merseyside.
Savage, who can play at centre-back and left-back, is comfortable on the ball and has experience of playing at reserve team level for Liverpool.
The FA Youth Cup winner, who naturally idolises Virgil van Dijk, was previously handed his Liverpool's under-18s' debut by Steven Gerrard during the Reds legend's spell in charge.
Savage may have been playing for the under-16s at the time but Gerrard had seen enough in the youngster to throw him in against Wolves, and the defender duly repaid his manager's faith by scoring on his full debut.
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'A manager's dream': How Conor Bradley earned professional Liverpool contract after joining Academy aged nine
[article]
Another step up the mountain, another new height reached but more acclimatisation to be done.
Come July 9, when he turns 17, Castlederg teenager Conor Bradley is set to put pen to paper on a three-year professional contract at English champions-elect Liverpool.
It's recognition of his successful first year on a scholarship deal and another move in the direction of the ultimate dream; to play for the first team.
"The one thing I tell kids at this stage," says scout Cliff Ferguson, who brought Bradley into the Academy aged nine, "and I've said it to Conor two or three times, is that you're on Mount Everest and you're just moving up another bit to try and get to the top."
Jumping straight from a scholarship deal into such a lengthy contract, Ferguson admits, is tracking to the summit at a faster rate than most.
"A three year deal is a bit of a statement, it speaks for itself really," he continued. "But if there's any kid that will take things in his stride it's Conor."
It has been a rollercoaster of a first campaign at the Reds, since his initial signing last summer, when the teenager was struggling to even process what was happening.
"It's a bit overwhelming that I'm going to join the club that I support," he told the Belfast Telegraph shortly before flying over to begin full-time life at Kirkby. "Hopefully I can take it all in my stride."
It's fair to say he did.
By the time the campaign came to an abrupt halt, he had established himself as a regular starter for the Under 18s and even made two appearances for the club's Under 23 squad.
It all comes as little surprise to Ferguson, the man who IFA Primary School Coach Steafan Deery first approached back in 2012, with a view to giving Bradley a chance at the club he supports.
"Conor was really, really easy to identify," Ferguson says. "He's a great mover - a really athletic kid.
"The players' talent gets them to Liverpool, that's a given, but the rest is down to attitude and Conor's will to win stood out even at nine years old. That's the best thing for me.
"He initially came into our group of under nines, tens and elevens but it wasn't long before we had to move him up and play him in with the older kids, Under 12s and 13s, because the lad needs a challenge. He's not happy unless you're really pushing him.
"If he felt things were too easy, he wasn't long in letting you know. That real work ethic, the mentality and the attitude, it beats ability. Of course he has plenty of talent, but his attitude is top class."
Bradley, although versatile, has made his home at right-back with the Reds. As has been widely noted under Jurgen Klopp, full-backs Andy Robertson and, in particular, Trent Alexander-Arnold have become key to the boss' style of play.
"These days, full-backs are told to get up the pitch in line with the striker. It suits Conor lovely, running onto things. If there's space, that's when he hurts teams," continues Ferguson.
"Where I maybe took Conor for granted is tactically. He's excellent. He takes information on board and makes himself a better player.
"He's really, really good that way. He must be a manager's dream because he does everything and fulfils his role to the letter."
Bradley could, over the course of his soon-to-be-signed professional deal, become the first Northern Irishman to play a competitive game for the Reds' senior side since Sammy Smyth in 1954.
It would be a landmark day for Ferguson and for the club's development centre based at Civil Service, Stormont.
Since Smyth last played at Anfield, as many as 24 Northern Irish players have represented old rivals Manchester United, including the likes of George Best, Keith Gillespie and, most recently, Ethan Galbraith.
It's an issue for Liverpool - a city with such rich Irish heritage - and Ferguson has been striving to put it right.
"I made a case to the staff at Liverpool that if we had a development centre then we could compete with United," he explains.
"So we've had it going for 12 years now. We get the kids in for a few hours on a Friday, borrowing them from their clubs really. Stefan Seaton is the head coach. He's well renowned and has done really well, especially with the likes of Conor.
"We're a bit like good cop, bad cop. I'm just the one who stands on the sidelines and has a bit of craic with them, tries to get to know them. Stefan has a learning plan for them and and is working hard with them.
"The only rules we have are that the kids enjoy themselves, look forward to coming and aren't afraid to make mistakes."
Once they arrive, it's a case of selecting players that, like Conor, could make the grade in the ultra-competitive world of the club's Kirkby Academy base.
"We're always in close contact with the staff at Liverpool, writing match reports, player reports and player profiles so they know the players that are doing well. It's all documented," he explained.
"Once a player does really well, I make a case and hopefully they go over on trial. Charlie Allen, who is joining Leeds from Linfield, was the last one we had over.
"What the players are looking for from there is to be asked back.
"Conor got that and every time he went over, he was getting better and better and better.
"I think the big thing for him, the statement piece, was winning Player of the Tournament when he went to Barcelona for a tournament.
"From there, they made it clear they really liked him. And that was with the full Academy staff there. When I was over, they were all stopping and asking me about him. They like him."
Ferguson began working with the club in 2001 after bringing his Dungoyne Youth squad over for a tournament and was employed in an official capacity in 2004.
Since 2012, he has been in charge of the club's development pathways throughout Ireland, playing a key role in the signings of defender Conor Masterson, who was on the bench for the 2018 Champions League quarter-final win over Manchester City, and goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, who made his debut last season and was named on the bench for the European final.
"You're always worried about them," Ferguson says. "Even when they're in their 20s, it always seems like they're 10 or 11 to me. My motto is and always has been that people are more important than football. I play a very small part in their careers but it's a great interest."
It has now been 66 years since a Northern Irishman played for Liverpool but Conor Bradley is one step closer to the summit, and Cliff Ferguson is hoping to send more climbers close behind.[/article]
[article]Leicester City have signed 16-year-old midfielder Jack Lewis from Liverpool following a successful trial.
The teenager spent several weeks with Leicester's under-18 squad towards the end of last season and caught the eye of coaches and scouts during training sessions and several trial matches.
LeicestershireLive understands that Lewis has agreed a deal with the club, which will see him join Adam Barradell's under-18s on a two-year scholarship from the start of next season.
There is potential for him to sign a professional deal when he becomes eligible to do so on his 17th birthday.
The club are also understood to have offered a similar deal to Manchester United and Wales youth international Chris Popov, a talented left-winger who is said to have turned down an offer from the Red Devils. It is unclear whether Popov is yet to accept Leicester's offer.
He would join fellow ex-Manchester United teammate Jahmari Lindsay in joining the Foxes, with the left-back penning a deal towards the end of last season.
Meanwhile, the Foxes have been linked with a move for 19-year-old Hartlepool United goalkeeper Brad Young. According to Football Insider, Leicester have offered the England youth international a three-year deal.
Young has attracted interest from a number of clubs, most notably Chelsea, and would be a replacement for Oliver Bosworth, who was released at the end of last season.[/article]
The teenager spent several weeks with Leicester's under-18 squad towards the end of last season and caught the eye of coaches and scouts during training sessions and several trial matches.
LeicestershireLive understands that Lewis has agreed a deal with the club, which will see him join Adam Barradell's under-18s on a two-year scholarship from the start of next season.
There is potential for him to sign a professional deal when he becomes eligible to do so on his 17th birthday.
The club are also understood to have offered a similar deal to Manchester United and Wales youth international Chris Popov, a talented left-winger who is said to have turned down an offer from the Red Devils. It is unclear whether Popov is yet to accept Leicester's offer.
He would join fellow ex-Manchester United teammate Jahmari Lindsay in joining the Foxes, with the left-back penning a deal towards the end of last season.
Meanwhile, the Foxes have been linked with a move for 19-year-old Hartlepool United goalkeeper Brad Young. According to Football Insider, Leicester have offered the England youth international a three-year deal.
Young has attracted interest from a number of clubs, most notably Chelsea, and would be a replacement for Oliver Bosworth, who was released at the end of last season.[/article]
[article]Liverpool's youngsters have been drawn to face Port Vale, Rochdale and Bolton Wanderers in the group stage of next season's Papa John's Trophy.
The Reds have once again accepted the invitation as one of 16 Premier League and Championship clubs to field an under-21 side along with the 48 senior teams from Leagues One and Two.
The pre-determined groups, split into northern and southern sections, saw Liverpool placed in Group D, where they will take on League One side Bolton along with League Two opponents Port Vale and Rochdale.
Each side plays the other once during the group stage, with the top two progressing to the knockout stages.
Liverpool, as an Academy team, will play all their games away from home.
The Reds have yet to win in the competition since first entering in 2019. Last season, they were beaten in all three group games including a 4-2 loss at Port Vale.
Sepp van den Berg, Leighton Clarkson, Billy Koumetio, Jake Cain, Ben Woodburn and Conor Bradley all featured last year, while Caoimhin Kelleher was in goal for the 6-1 loss at Wigan Athletic.[/article]
7 yrs old. Need to wait another 10+ yrs to see him feature for us
https://www.lancs.live/sport/footba...-rovers-liverpool-clarkson-clitheroe-20829891
[article]Blackburn Rovers would consider a loan move for Liverpool midfielder Leighton Clarkson with the club looking to utilise their healthy relationships with Premier League outfits in the summer transfer window.
With their budget restricting the recruitment operation, Rovers have been assessing options in the free agent market while putting the feelers out on several potential loan targets.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is one, the Manchester City starlet enjoying a fruitful spell during his four-month stint with the club, while Rovers would jump at the chance of a Harvey Elliott return but will have to await Liverpool's decision on how they wish to plot the development of the teenage sensation.
But as cited by the Lancashire Telegraph, Rovers do not have all their eggs in the basket of former loanees and Elliott's team-mate Clarkson - who was born and brought up in nearby Clitheroe - is a player that the club are especially keen on.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who donned the shirt of Clitheroe Wolves as a child before joining Liverpool's famed academy, has been compared to Philipp Lahm by staff at Melwood, who are all excited over his future prospects.
As Jurgen Klopp explained: “He’s just a good footballer, a smart footballer. He’s fast, physically strong.” While the Liverpool manager may see Clarkson as a classic six in the pivot, the teenager is equipped to tackle a role as a roaming eight - but that flexibility would be a vital asset to Tony Mowbray's plans.
Clarkson made his Champions League debut last December to add to one appearance in each of the domestic cups in 2019/20, but is yet to play senior league football at any level. In a similar pathway to Elliott, might a Championship loan spell be the next logical step? Liverpool were certainly considering it back in January.
It might also interest Rovers fans that Clarkson is known as something of a set piece expert and was singled out to hone his craft even further by undertaking extra one-on-one work with former academy coach Steven Gerrard, who is now of course manager of Rangers.
Given Rovers' set-piece plight last season and Barry Douglas now formally departed, the Liverpool ace would offer a reliable delivery and a potential source of goals.[/article]
[article]Blackburn Rovers would consider a loan move for Liverpool midfielder Leighton Clarkson with the club looking to utilise their healthy relationships with Premier League outfits in the summer transfer window.
With their budget restricting the recruitment operation, Rovers have been assessing options in the free agent market while putting the feelers out on several potential loan targets.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is one, the Manchester City starlet enjoying a fruitful spell during his four-month stint with the club, while Rovers would jump at the chance of a Harvey Elliott return but will have to await Liverpool's decision on how they wish to plot the development of the teenage sensation.
But as cited by the Lancashire Telegraph, Rovers do not have all their eggs in the basket of former loanees and Elliott's team-mate Clarkson - who was born and brought up in nearby Clitheroe - is a player that the club are especially keen on.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who donned the shirt of Clitheroe Wolves as a child before joining Liverpool's famed academy, has been compared to Philipp Lahm by staff at Melwood, who are all excited over his future prospects.
As Jurgen Klopp explained: “He’s just a good footballer, a smart footballer. He’s fast, physically strong.” While the Liverpool manager may see Clarkson as a classic six in the pivot, the teenager is equipped to tackle a role as a roaming eight - but that flexibility would be a vital asset to Tony Mowbray's plans.
Clarkson made his Champions League debut last December to add to one appearance in each of the domestic cups in 2019/20, but is yet to play senior league football at any level. In a similar pathway to Elliott, might a Championship loan spell be the next logical step? Liverpool were certainly considering it back in January.
It might also interest Rovers fans that Clarkson is known as something of a set piece expert and was singled out to hone his craft even further by undertaking extra one-on-one work with former academy coach Steven Gerrard, who is now of course manager of Rangers.
Given Rovers' set-piece plight last season and Barry Douglas now formally departed, the Liverpool ace would offer a reliable delivery and a potential source of goals.[/article]
Now that Paul Glatzel is out on loan and Joe Hardy has left, looks like Jack Bearne will be the main striking option for U23?
This article about him was dated Nov 2019.
[article]Tottenham have joined the race to sign Newcastle starlet Bobby Clark with the midfielder in line for his England youth debut next month.
Magpies boss Steve Bruce rates 14-year-old Clark — the son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee — as the club's best schoolboy prospect.
He entered the club's history books when debuting for the Under 18s aged just 14 years and 206 days this season and we can reveal that he will be involved with England Under 15s for the first time when they face Republic of Ireland and Turkey next month.
We understand that Clark would prefer to stay with his hometown club but there has been interest from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Bayern Munich over the course of recent months, such is his reputation through academy football.
But it is Spurs who are now thought to have emerged as the frontrunners, should Clark and his family decide his development is best served away from Newcastle, where concerns over the infrastructure of the club's academy remain.
Clark's dad famously scored a hat-trick for England schoolboys as a 15-year-old against Brazil at Wembley in 1988 and went on to make over 500 senior appearances for Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham.[/article]
I've actually heard of him. These wonderkids usually turn out to be shite, but that's a good start
Lol
The kid we just signed:
Their fans are a bit pissed off:
https://newcastle-online.org/topic/19728-the-reserves-academy-thread/page/403/
Their fans are a bit pissed off:
https://newcastle-online.org/topic/19728-the-reserves-academy-thread/page/403/
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sorry but he reminds me of Ben Woodburn.
Nah this kid seems a bit more agile.
It's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me as well.
Minim aydelemkeep on sharing!
amusa gnalo
I had named Woodburn as benchburn long back. Unfortunately I was proved to be right. Fingers crossed and I will keep my mouth shut this time.
