Ian Doyle has suggested that Jurgen Klopp could take a closer look at one Liverpool youngster in particular during pre-season.
Luke Chambers featured in the Reds’ first team’s summer schedule 11 months ago in preparations for the 2022/23 campaign and had a spell on loan at Kilmarnock earlier this year.
The journalist was asked in a Q&A for the Liverpool Echo about whether the 18-year-old left-back is likely to be loaned out again by his parent club, or whether he could be retained for under-21 games and possible senior involvement in domestic cups.
Doyle replied: “Interesting one, really. I do know Liverpool were impressed with how Chambers did at Kilmarnock in the second half of this season, and he’s still only 18.
“Chambers was given a go in pre-season last summer and I reckon that might happen again before any decision is made. The Europa League does offer the promise of more game time, but if he could get say a move to a Championship club that might be better for him.”
Barring lengthy injuries to Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas, Chambers is unlikely to carve out a regular place in Liverpool’s first XI any time soon, although pre-season could indeed be the perfect environment for Klopp to test him out and see if he could challenge for a first-team squad place.
Like Doyle has mentioned, a loan spell at an English Championship side who could offer him frequent game-time may be the best option for his development at this juncture, although the Europa League might offer another platform on which to impress.
He’s already made an impression on some of the Reds’ senior pros, with his Greek positional colleague telling the club’s official website last year that “he’s a very, very good player and always very focused in training”.
Chambers should go into Liverpool’s pre-season enhanced by his senior exposure at Kilmarnock, where he had to mature quickly in helping his team through a tense relegation battle in the Scottish Premiership.
He may also be buoyed by how players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Stefan Bajcetic have been given their chance by Klopp to become first-team regulars having come through the club’s academy ranks, so the next few weeks could go some way towards him possibly getting a more sustained chance at Anfield.