Gary McAllister says one Liverpool player looks ‘totally different’ during pre-season

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Liverpool have had an excellent time of it during pre-season so far, with Arne Slot settling in perfectly.

The Reds have won three out of three as they warm-up for their first campaign without Jurgen Klopp for almost a decade.

Slot has had to deal with missing many of the Liverpool squad’s biggest players throughout the summer. With international football getting in the way, the new head coach has had to make do and mend.

However, the absence of some big names does not appear to have hindered Liverpool. Youngsters and fringe players have put in the work and carried the Reds, with a number of them really standing out.

And as the Premier League season speeds into view, former Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister believes one academy star is now looking like a senior player for the Reds.

Conor Bradley development hailed

Although he has been missing big players like Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and many more besides, this pre-season will have been incredibly useful to Slot.

It will have given the Dutchman the chance to assess the depth of his squad and work out which young players he can rely on and which might need a bit more time.

One who almost certainly falls into the former category is Conor Bradley. The right-back started all three of Liverpool’s games in the US.

Just as was the case when he broke into the first-team last season, Bradley has not looked out of place at all.

READ MORE: Conor Bradley explains how Arne Slot’s tactics differ from Jurgen Klopp

Early videos of training showed Bradley looking electric and the 21-year-old has taken that into the matches, too.

And speaking on The Official Liverpool FC Podcast, McAllister said that from what he has seen out in the US, Bradley now looks to have physically developed further from last season.

“We spoke to him at the training, visually he just totally looks different,” says the Scotsman.

“He’s still marauding forward but he’s grown into his body, he’s filling out and looking strong and quick.”

Conor Bradley set for crunch time

Bradley was again impressive during Sunday morning’s game against Man United. The Northern Irishman lasted 73 minutes – the most of any player who started the match.

That Slot was willing to leave him on for so long is testament to Bradley’s athleticism and that will hopefully only develop further as he gets older.

For now, exactly how much game time the youngster gets will hinge on how the head coach sees Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Slot is set for talks with Alexander-Arnold about his best position in the team, and if that ends up being in midfield, then Bradley will become an automatic starter.

We think it’s more likely that Trent will continue in his role at right-back, mind you. But either way, Bradley looks ready to play a bigger part for Liverpool next season.