Liverpool have shown a knack for bringing young players through at the right times over recent years.
The Reds don’t like to work with the biggest first-team squad in the world and so can often become reilant on having options available in the youth teams.
This was evident more than ever last season, as Jurgen Klopp made stars out of a number of the Liverpool academy.
The two who shone the brightest – Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley – have become permanent fixtures in the Liverpool squad this season.
But besides that pair, and the burgeoning Trey Nyoni to some extent, Arne Slot has so far refrained from giving first-team minutes to any of Liverpool’s talented youngsters.
As games become more frequent heading towards Christmas, though, that could soon start to change. And according to journalist David Lynch, there’s at least one talent who the Liverpool head coach wants to take a look at.
Jayden Danns set for first-team chance
When a young player gets his chance at any club can be down to two things, really.
The first is that if a talent is really good enough, then he will eventually get a go in the first-team no matter what happens. That has been the case for Bradley and Nyoni perhaps.
The second is if the opportunity arises in the position the youngster plays in. Would Quansah have ever really been considered had Liverpool signed a centre-back last summer, for example? Probably not.
For Jayden Danns, his chance under Slot could come because of a mix of both of these factors. Danns has been labelled an ‘outrageous’ talent and showed last season that he has the quality to play for Liverpool.
But it has also been apparant this season that Slot could be in the market for a new centre-forward. Neither Diogo Jota nor Darwin Nunez have fully, fully convinced as of yet through the middle.
READ MORE: Jayden Danns posts positive update as he nears return from injury
And speaking to Anfield Agenda, Lynch says that the Liverpool boss is planning to take a look at Danns as another option when he returns from his current injury.
“Liverpool’s plan isn’t necessarily to loan him out straight away,” says the reporter.
“The idea is to get him in and around training between now and January, let the manager have a really close look at him because he’s a very promising player, and then make the decision on whether he makes the move out and goes for a loan in the second half of the season.
“He’s very, very close now to coming back,” Lynch adds.
Opportunity knocks for Jayden Danns
Danns excited just about everybody with the handful of appearances he made last season.
Although only 18, the Scouser looks like a striker who really knows where the net is. There’s little question that he could have a future – and possibly even a big one – at Anfield.
For that to happen, though, Slot has to put some trust in Danns. With Jota and Nunez rotating as Liverpool’s central striking option, perhaps that feels unlikely to come.
But neither senior player has as of yet really nailed his colours to the mast as a player Slot can definitely count on in the long-term.
If Danns can come back and impress in training, his chance could come sooner than expected. And if the teenager can do well, then maybe Arne will have found the centre-forward he’s clearly been looking for.
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