Former Leeds, Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has lauded young Liverpool talent Harvey Elliott.
The playmaker recently turned 17, and as a 16-year-old, had made seven appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds before the season was curtailed by coronavirus.
In the U23s he’d looked a level above alongside Curtis Jones, another Liverpool youngster who looks set for a first-team future under Klopp’s guidance.
But Elliott is arguably the better know outside of Anfield – due to his Premier League debut aged 15 while at Fulham and some of the controversy that surrounded the early part of his career.
“If there is I have not seen them,” Robinson told Football Insider, when asked if Elliott is the best teenager in the world.
“When he has come into the team he has done outstandingly well. At 17 he looks comfortable and capable. He is going to have a very long and profitable career.
“To come into the Liverpool squad is not easy. Look at the quality of player they have got.
“They are European champions and probably Premier League champions so the pull to come to Liverpool has never been higher. They can pull in the world’s best talent if they wanted to but the fact that they have given him a new contract shows you what they think of him.
“A quality player. I rate him. He is going to be around for a long, long time at the top level and at Liverpool if he wants to be.”
What we most like about Elliott is that he completely trusts his ability. When deployed in the cup competitions, he demanded the ball and played like someone who believed he was the best player on the pitch.
This kind of arrogance can cause problems, but if Klopp can channel Elliott’s talent we could save millions down the line.
He’s very left-footed and seems most comfortable on the right, from where he can cut in and create – but going forward we can see him equally adept just off a forward or as a attacking, central midfielder – too.