Klopp says the senior players are very excited by Harvey Elliott and public perception of him is wrong

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Jurgen Klopp has explained in length why the club has moved to award Harvey Elliott with his first professional deal.

The 17-year-old penned new terms today and we imagine the deal will run until 2025 at the earliest.

This season, we’ve seen more than a few glimpses of the wonderkid’s ability – especially in the cup games he’s starred in when Klopp decided to field what was essentially the U23 side on a few occasions.

The boss is delighted with the extension – and has told fans that the first-team players are just as excited by Elliott as he is – and interestingly, that the public perception of him is wrong.

“Brilliant news – really happy,” the boss told Liverpoolfc.com.

“Harvey is such an exciting prospect. We all know his qualities – we have seen them this season in the first team and U23s.

“I love his attitude – love his enthusiasm – love his bravery – love the fact he has the right amount of football confidence and cheekiness.

“I think the public maybe doesn’t know the real Harvey yet and part of that is because we have looked to shield and protect him.

“But he is such a nice, polite, humble boy – who is appreciative of the talent and opportunity he has – and just loves football. He loves the game first and foremost, would play every minute of every day if he could – and he loves this club also and that’s a nice mixture.

“What is critical – so important – is that he is given time and space to develop. He will get that from us. He needs to be allowed to make mistakes while he learns and not feel more pressure than is right and fair.

“He is young and he is in the early stages of his development still.

“What is great is that he has the perfect culture here and we will protect him. The senior players and the coaches really care about him and are as excited as I am about his future. So, we will all be part of his story as it unfolds.

“He wants to achieve all his football dreams at LFC. Brilliant. Because of his commitment to us, with this contract, we have a chance to see if we can achieve this together.

“We now have shared responsibility. He must remain committed to learning and improvement and we must ensure he has the opportunity to do that.”

As well as Elliott, Liverpool currently have Neco Williams impressing on every occasion he comes on for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, and looks like he’ll be a very solid understudy in the short-term.

In the long-term, perhaps he’ll replace Trent who can move into midfield!

Then there’s Curtis Jones, the scouser who scored his first Premier League goal against Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

On top of those three, there’s Ki-Jana Hoever and of course Rhian Brewster, currently doing the business on loan in the Championship.

The future is undoubtedly bright!

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