Liverpool have a proud history when it comes to academy talent and yesterday Layton Stewart returned to action.
The Reds talisman has been out of action for 12 months after rupturing his ACL whilst playing for the under-23s last season.
Stewart marked his return by captaining Liverpool as the under-19s played their fourth group game of the Al Abtal Cup.
The Reds faced Sporting Lisbon and led by Stewart, Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners.
A lethal striker before his injury, the 19-year-old was replaced in the second half by under-18 goal machine Oakley Cannonier.
He scored twice to bring his own tally for the 2021/22 campaign to a remarkable 30.
Stewart could be in action once again next Tuesday when Liverpool face Juventus in the quarter-final of the UEFA Youth League.
Nothing against development squad football but Stewart could have much bigger fish to fry on his way to stardom.
The talented player recently signed a new deal that keeps him at Anfield until 2025.
That should give the player confidence and he will want to get back among the goals and more crucially, catch the eye of Jurgen Klopp.
Stewart will have eyes on Liverpool first-team after comparisons
The academy graduate has been compared to Fernando Torres and Robbie Fowler in the past.
He is a lethal finisher and boasts intelligent movement to get into positions to score plenty of goals.
Prior to picking up his serious injury last season he had found the net 17 times and was making waves with the under-18s.
Now, he will want to get back to that level and start repaying the faith of the club that handed him a decent contract.
Klopp will know all about Stewart. He has his finger on the pulse at the academy and he’s shown in cup competitions that he’s not afraid to give them minutes on the pitch.
The challenge for Stewart now is to impress Klopp and earn a first-team chance in the near future.
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