Talented winger Sheyi Ojo is spending the season on loan at Wolves having been sent there by Brendan Rodgers before the Northern Irishman’s sacking, but has spoken in glowing terms about the man that replaced him – Jurgen Klopp.
“He seems like a really nice manager and he wants to help all of the players,” Ojo told Liverpoolfc.com.
“He’s just said to me to keep my head down, keep working hard and obviously we’ll just see what the future holds.
“I think he’s come to see me a couple of times which is nice to hear and hopefully I can keep on improving and keep on doing well.
“With the right guidance I think I can do well in this team. I’m still learning and I’m still young so I’ll just see how it goes and see what the manager wants me to do.”
Klopp’s already been to watch Ojo once, but unfortunately the youngster didn’t feature – much to the German’s indignation! Ojo has though made 15 appearances so far, scoring three goals – which is enough to get the attention of the new manager at least.
Last season, Jordon Ibe racked up five goals before Christmas at Derby County, and was duly brought back to Anfield where he immediately established himself as an important member of the first-team squad.
And it’s the fellow English winger Ojo wants to emulate.
“He went out on loan last season and then got recalled back so it goes to show that if you do well on loan you get the chance to be called back and go straight into the first team,” Ojo, who’s only been 18 for five months, said.
“That’s my main aim to keep doing well and I do get the call back, I just need to impress the manager.
“I’m learning now at Wolves and getting more experience but the main aim is to come back and impress the manager, and hopefully I can start playing for Liverpool on a regular basis.”
“It’s going well. Results have been a bit up and down at the moment, but for me obviously I’m playing pretty much every game so it’s a good experience for me.
“I’m learning different things every match, so hopefully I can take that into next season and the future.
“Physically it’s a lot different to U21 football, so for me as a wide player or a forward you’ve got to make decisions quicker.
“Sometimes in a match I will get fouled quite a lot but you just have to bounce back up and get on with it.”
Ojo and Ibe share many characteristics. Both are strong, quick and enjoy isolating a fullback and running at him. It’s good that the younger of the pair has direct inspiration in his own age group at the club, as he’ll know that hard work in the lower leagues will result in a first-team Liverpool opportunity.