While the Carabao Cup offers opportunities for the likes of Harvey Elliott, Ben Doak, Stefan Bajcetic and Ryan Gravenberch, the Reds manager isn’t just handing out debuts for the sake of it.
Jurgen Klopp is likely to make another big change to his Liverpool squad when they play Leicester in their Carabao Cup opener on Wednesday.
But while it will once again provide opportunities for rising stars Harvey Elliott, Ben Doak, Stefan Bajcetic and new signing Ryan Gravenberch, the Reds manager isn’t just handing out debuts for the sake of it.
Instead, his assistant boss at Anfield, Pep Lijnders, believes opportunities will come because young players have earned them – and deserve the chance to develop into top stars.
“Of course we’re making changes, but we’re not just here to debut. We’re here to evolve, so it’s a debut and an evolution. We have to use the hunger, we have to use the guys who really want to show, he explained.
“So, take Ben Doak or Stefan Bajcetic … what I’m trying to say is we’re going to focus on developing those guys as well and they need games. They need good games.”
Doak is one of the most exciting talents at Anfield since Trent Alexander-Arnold came through the youth ranks. He is seen as a potential long-term successor to Mo Salah, while it is no exaggeration to say that Bajcetic is seen as a long-term Spanish midfielder.
And Dutchman Ljinders, who plays a major role in developing young players in Klopp’s squad, believes 17-year-old Doak is spotting the talents of the Dutch champions. “I had the honor of growing up in the Netherlands, so we have a long-standing tactical culture of Johan Cruyff. They always said that the most special players are the full-backs who can create,” he explained.
“We have a culture of full-backs who can really use one-on-ones to break and have that kind of speed. Overmars, Arjen Robben, that kind of player and (before them) Johnny Rep, Rob Rensenbrink, so we have that culture of full-backs.
“And then when you get a young full-back from Scotland who is only 17 and can create and get to the back line with individual skills or individual moves, that’s good to see.” Alexander-Arnold is back in training and could be on the bench against Leicester, while Klopp could make another 11 changes in midweek. Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link for your daily Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and promotions from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are curious, you can read our privacy notice.
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