Klopp withdrew 19y/o 'Sturridge's replacement' 15 mins into weekend's clash because of UCL - originally posted on Sportslens.com
According to The Athletic, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp ordered manager Neil Critchley to withdraw Rhian Brewster from Liverpool’s under-23’s clash against Derby County after 15 minutes because of today’s Championship League clash against Napoli.
The highly-rated forward finally put pen to paper for his first professional contract last July, signing a five-year deal.
It came just six months after he sustained a career-threatening injury – that required two operations on the ligaments in his ankle and meniscus cartilage in his knee – while playing for Liverpool Under 23 against Manchester City.
Klopp believes so much in Brewster that he decided not to sign another striker after Daniel Sturridge’s contract expired in the summer as he sees the teenage sensation as his replacement.
Despite starring for the Reds in pre-season and scoring four goals, the youngster has been playing with the under-23’s since the beginning of the season in order to get game-time after spending the week training with the senior side at Melwood.
With Divock Origi out of action for the next two weeks, Brewster has now been promoted to the first-team squad, and Klopp didn’t want him to pick up a knock against Derby, hence his decision to immediately get a call across to Critchley via his assistant Pep Lijnders.
While the likelihood of the England youth international playing in Naples will depend on so many factors during the game, it is almost certain that he will play when Liverpool visit MK Dons for their League Cup clash next week Wednesday.
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