Pedro Chirivella is loving working under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
The Spanish teenager arrived from Valencia in 2013, and has been a star of the Under-21 side ever since – slowly entering the manager’s plans last season.
He made five appearances in total, but only once in the Premier League – where he was hauled off at half-time away to Swansea after failing to establish himself on proceedings.
Chirivella will hope for plenty of involvement during pre-season though; where he can impress Klopp enough to earn more minutes in 2016/17.
“The truth is from day one he has given me a lot of confidence,” the 19-year-old told the official website.
“I train with him and I’ve played five games with the first team. He talks a lot with me, what needs to be improved, and is very supportive.
“He says that I have to improve without the ball, and then I have everything, but he is happy. He wants me to press without the ball even more.
“He has a special charisma. He is an idol for the fans by the way he lives football, his passion. Since he has arrived he has helped us a lot.
“He has made us a very strong group, even in the dressing room and he fits very well with the players and has taken us to two finals in seven months.”
Chirivella is a deep-lying playmaker with excellent technical ability and a strong passing range. He likes the football and is happy to pick up possession in tight spaces. At the moment though he’s not physically tough enough to boss a Premier League midfield – and this is something he’ll need to work on during pre-season.
Ability wise, he could make it – but that’s only part of what it takes a youngster to transform from promising youth player to effective professional player.
Klopp has shown with Sheyi Ojo that he’s happy to utilise talented teenagers should they possess the required talent, and Chirivella is one of our youngsters with the highest potential ceiling.
We look forward to seeing him in some of our summer tour fixtures.
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