Liverpool U21 boss Barry Lewtas applauded Jurgen Klopp this week for a gesture made to his team. ‘It doesn’t get any better’, he says.
Liverpool Under 21s beat Blackburn Rovers at the weekend thanks to a Max Woltman striker. The Reds ran out 1-0 winners as a result – a great first win of the season.
The match was also notable because Jurgen Klopp and his senior coaching staff were on the sidelines watching. It’s not something they often do but U21 boss Barry Lewtas is thrilled they took the time.
“It’s brilliant,” Lewtas told Liverpoolfc.com. “Pep [Lijnders] was with us on the morning of the game and we had breakfast together and we were chatting about the players who had been training with the first team.
“The first team finished training and then the boss, Pep, Vitor [Matos] and John Achterberg all came down to watch us. It doesn’t get any better if you are working at the Academy.
“And for the players in our group, that’s the next step. He watches our games and he makes his judgements, so it’s really good.”
Jurgen Klopp watches Liverpool U21 game
We imagine the injuries in Liverpool’s senior squad sparked this as the Reds’ bench had plenty of youngsters against Manchester United. Two of them, Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark, played the first 45 against Blackburn.
Liverpool have always offered that pathway under Klopp. Injuries open the door for youngsters and sometimes, those youngsters don’t leave the senior setup. Trent Alexander-Arnold is the finest example of that, of course.
But the academy players know well that impressing Klopp will get you minutes at the senior level. Bajcetic and Clark do appear to be next in line for those minutes, as Tyler Morton and Conor Bradley got last season.
Hopefully, Klopp liked what he saw because Bajcetic, in particular, looks like a potential star.
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