Liverpool supporters will get the chance to review a number of new young players during this summer’s tour of the USA.
The Reds are still waiting for a large group of their first-team stars to return following a busy off-season of international football.
And although four senior Liverpool players could join the tour as it progressess, the early stages of the trip could be vital for academy youngsters looking to impress.
Around half of the 28-man party are players who are likely to find themselves out of the Liverpool first-team squad once the season commences.
Of course, they could change that by impressing Arne Slot over the next 10 days or so. Jarell Quansah did it last season and there could now be another to follow his lead from the lower divisions to Liverpool.
Luca Stephenson ready to make impression
When last season’s pre-season began, Quansah was yet to make a single appearance for Liverpool’s first-team. He had barely registered on the senior radar at all.
However, the previous six months had been spent gaining valuable experience with League One side Bristol Rovers. The defender played 16 times for the Gas and did well. From there Quansah blossomed.
Conor Bradley was another to show that the pathway from the lower leagues up to the Reds senior side is now very much open. This year, Liverpool could have more success in that respect.
20-year-old midfielder Luca Stephenson has not spent too much time around the Reds first-team. But having been included in Slot’s squad for the USA, that is about to change.
No one can say that Stephenson has not put in the hard yards. He played 30 times while on-loan at League Two side Barrow last season as they finished eighth, just missing out on the play-offs.
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The Liverpool academy youngster – who was signed from Sunderland in 2018 – also featured twice in the FA Cup and made a further two appearances in the EFL Trophy for the Bluebirds.
Although other homegrown loan players, such as Tyler Morton, attracted more of the headlines, it was a quietly impressive season for Stephenson in making the step up to men’s football.
As Quansah showed, the jump from a third or fourth division side does not have to be a huge one for a young player. If you’ve put the work in and held your own, you have a solid base to work from.
And having been training with Slot at the AXA Training Centre since the new head coach’s first day, Stephenson appears to have caught his eye. Time to show what he can do in the US.
What kind of player is Luca Stephenson?
Obviously, with so many of Liverpool’s bigger players away, there was always going to be chances for some young players this summer. But Stephenson is not in there by default.
Aside from the goalkeepers, the youngster is one of only two players selected who have not made their debuts for Liverpool. The other is highly-rated centre-back Amara Nallo.
Although he’s nominally a midfielder, part of the reason Stephenson may have been selected by Slot is for his ability to play at right-back.
Without Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez, Slot has just Conor Bradley as a recognised right-back. Though it isn’t his usual position, Stephenson played virtually all of last season at full-back for Barrow.
As a result, it seems likely that if we see him in the US, it will be from the right of Liverpool’s defence. If he does get significant minutes, we suspect that Luca might be about to surprise a few people.
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