FC Nordsjaelland youngster Andreas Schjelderup has claimed that he rejected a move to Liverpool in 2020.
Speaking to Goal, the 17-year-old said that turning down the chance to join Liverpool ‘hurt’ him.
“Of course, it was a bit hard (turning down Liverpool), because when you grow up, you watch the big names and then you hear that they want you, so your head starts to spin,” said Schjelderup.
“It hurt a little bit for me and my dad in our hearts.”
The Norwegian youngster, who was sixteen at the time, was actually on trial with The Reds. But after rejecting their approach, he instead joined Nordsjaelland in Denmark.
Schjelderup claims that the chance to be part of the first-team immediately was the main factor behind his decision.
“The move here was instead of going to an academy at Under-19 or Under-17 level,” he said. “It felt like this step in the ocean was the right one for me.”
In that respect, he has been proven right. The attacking-midfielder has gone on to make 36 appearances in Denmark’s Danish Superliga, scoring six times.
One to watch
Schjelderup was speaking to Goal as part of their NXGN 50 best wonderkids in football series. The teenager finished in 29th place in the list.
At the same time that he had trials at Liverpool, he also spent time at several other of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Bayern Munich, Juventus and Ajax are three clubs named as those who Schjelderup also turned down.
The move to reject Liverpool was obviously a difficult decision for the young man and his family. Hopefully The Reds have kept in touch with the player and abreast of his progress over the last couple of years.
Schjelderup has the look of being an excellent technician who likes to drift in from the left-hand side. He compares himself to Jack Grealish, and you can certainly see why.
If he carries on his development in Scandinavia and can break into an exciting looking Norway national team, perhaps the time will then be right for a move to Liverpool.
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