Meet the Liverpool wonderkid who plays like Adam Wharton

Liverpool have a special talent in the mould of Adam Wharton who could be an asset to Arne Slot's first-team soon.

Right now, one of the areas where the Reds are lacking is in midfield. Slot just doesn't have the progressive midfield profiles that he would desire.

Alexis Mac Allister is a very technically gifted footballer but he's not a progressive one. Ryan Gravenberch is a great carrier but he's not a progressive passer.

Liverpool need someone with a bit of finesse. Someone who can break opposition lines. Like Thiago Alcantara in his prime.

They had that player in Tyler Morton, who is doing that in Ligue 1 at Lyon after leaving the club this summer.

Now there are speculation linking them to Wharton of Crystal Palace. But what if they just have a bit of patience and instead promote someone from within?

Let us introduce you to Haydn Murray-Holme who might just be the biggest gem hiding away in Liverpool's academy right now.

The 17-year-old midfielder has been the star of the club's U18 team alongside Josh Sonni-Lambie.

He has one goal and three assists in 10 appearances so far. Those are decent numbers for a midfielder player but what are even more impressive are his underlying figures.

First of all, Murray-Holme is a very high intensity footballer. He's capable of covering a lot of ground and pressing very high up the field.

This season he has made 4.91 recoveries per 90 minutes in the opposition's half, which is a very impressive return. He's won 63.6% of his defensive duels and 60% of his aerial duels while averaging 3.74 interceptions.

On the ball, he is extremely technically gifted. Murray-Holme has a sublime first-touch and he can wrap his foot around the ball to execute a number of different passes, from audacious through balls with the outside of his foot to long and extremely precise long balls over the top of opposition defenders.

In a lot of ways Murray-Holme is very similar to Wharton. He's an extremely effective player at breaking lines.

He has averaged the most progressive passes (14.96 per 90 minutes) among midfielders in the U18 Premier League. He's averaged the third most passes into the opposition's final third (13.56 per 90 minutes).

With those spectacular performances, it's only a matter of time until he earns a promotion.

Right now he's showing in an inconsistent team that he has something special. That special quality can absolutely take him to the first-team. Especially when Slot's side are crying out for a midfielder of his profile.

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