Jurgen Klopp simply must play his youngsters after their performance against MK Dons on Wednesday.
The Reds won 2-0 as several young players caught the eye. There was Ki-Jana Hoever, who scored the second from right-back. Curtis Jones looked very capable when running with the ball. Harvey Elliott was unbelievably unfortunate to not score twice as two efforts crashed off the crossbar.
Then there was Rhian Brewster. He was quieter than the other three but this was, unlike them, his first senior appearance. We can certainly give him more time to impress.
But time is shorter than it first looked for Klopp. These aren’t young players who should disappear back to the youth setup but kids who need games now.
They’re good enough, bold enough, and far less likely to wait around than a few years ago. They’ll leave if they’re not getting the games they feel they’ve earned.
And it benefits Liverpool to play them, too. If they’re good enough, they’ll stick to the first team and suddenly fewer players are needed next summer.
In that case, more can be spent on the top, top signings, rather than squad players.
But even disregarding that, Klopp should play his youngsters now. They’re exciting players with all kinds of talent and there’s a place for them in the Liverpool first-team squad.
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