Jurgen Klopp has heaped huge praise on one of his young players after last night’s defeat of Fulham at Anfield but has admitted that the 20-year-old didn’t ‘look great’ following the full-time whistle.
Conor Bradley threw in an exceptional performance as he deputised for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back and was deservedly named man of the match.
The 2-1 defeat of Marco Silva’s side was the Northern Irishman’s fifth appearance of the season (across all competitions) and our German tactician joked after the game that someone would need to drive the full-back home due to the effort he’d put in on the pitch.
“I told him before the game already I was waiting for that moment that we can give him the opportunity,” Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com. “I was really waiting for it because when he got injured in pre-season, my opinion about him was already here [high] and then he was out for a pretty long time. A top boy. Today was pretty intense for him. Somebody has to drive him home hopefully because he really is sitting in the dressing room and doesn’t look great!
“He gave his absolute everything and it’s just so nice to see, it’s really so nice to see. And the next is sitting outside on the bench already. That’s really cool that he could show how good he already is and, of course, so much more to come. In the first goal, things like this happen, but if you are a defender there will always be an involvement in a goal somehow. But it’s all about how quick can you get into the game again and I didn’t see any kind of reaction – I liked that a lot.”
It’s always great to see an Academy graduate when called upon by the first team.
The Castlederg-born talent enjoyed a successful loan spell at Bolton Wanderers last term and despite his young age you do get the feeling that he’s ready to feature regularly at Liverpool.
He of course has a huge challenge on his hands to become a regular starter, due to Alexander-Arnold being one of the best players in the world (according to our No. 84 himself), but if the England international does step into a midfield role in the future like many are expecting him to then there’s no reason why Bradley can’t make the right back spot his own.
The youngster will be looking forward to more opportunities in the coming weeks while Trent recovers from his knee injury and we’re excited by the prospect of him developing further under the watchful eye of Klopp and Co.