Richard Hughes offers glimpse into Liverpool's future, it's IMPERIOUS
Liverpool have given the fans a glimpse into the club's future. We're in an imperious position.
The signings of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike in the summer, alongside the news that Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are all set to be approach over a new contract, all combine to quite the spectacle over the next few years. All six are massive talents.
And there's still a few daunting questions that fans will want to be answered when it comes to Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah's futures, alongside those of Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson beyond this season in particular, but the rumoured potential replacements are incredibly exciting.
But it's aside from all that where I'd like to concentrate. Giovanni Leoni's signing in the summer kind of went under the radar, and his ACL tear on debut won't have helped the lack of conversation around him, but he's an extraordinary talent. A recent transfer move that Liverpool completed suggests that me that Liverpool are going to be imperious in the future. It's that good a signing.
Leoni and Ndukwe are incredibly special talents
Even though we've only had the chance to see 81 minutes of these two players combined, with Leoni getting just the one appearance and Ifeanyi Ndukwe's transfer only being confirmed on Friday night, it feels like something remarkable is brewing at Liverpool and I can't wait to see the pairing in action.
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In the 19-year-old Italian, you've got a defender who Richard Hughes felt sufficiently impressed by to warrant a £26m plus add-ons approach, which is a serious transfer fee for a teenage centre-back.
His primary attributes are that he's 6ft 4ins, composed on the ball and and an incessant ball-winner; take the Southampton match as an example - he won four of his five duels, he made three interceptions, six clearances and three recoveries, alongside having a pass accuracy of 97%.
That's a player with a lot of potential, and while it might take him some time to recover from his ACL tear, he's actually showed a lot of promise in his limited time on the field. He's one half of the story.
The other is the Reds' new unconfirmed signing, 17-year-old Austrian centre-back Ndukwe. He'll move to Merseyside in the summer, as he'll have turned 18 by then and he'll spend some time working with the under-21s set-up before it's expected that the first-team will be calling for him.
Here's everything you need to know about him, but in summary, he's incredibly tall like Leoni, and he also oozes composure on the ball, which is a trait that normally comes with maturity and experience.
Anfield Watch's own Ben Bocsak has been effervescent over him in recent months, emphasising how big a talent he is, how high a ceiling he's got and what a brilliant signing he'd be for whoever got him.
Fabrizio Romano gave the 'Here We go' on his move to the Reds on Friday, and in a Youtube video on his channel, he revealed that Italian and German clubs were trying to secure him last season, only for him to choose to wait at Austria Vienna for a while longer. It turns out, Liverpool couldn't be ignored.
As a pairing, the 17-year-old and 19-year-old could be imperious for Liverpool in the next few years, and it's important that the timescale is emphasised here. Van Dijk and Konate will continue for the rest of this season, it's understood that Marc Guehi and at least one other defender will be signed in the next 12 months, and once everything's settled, then the two youngsters might get some chances.
That's all well and good, because you shouldn't rush young players' development, but when you see the potential they have, alongside other young talents such as Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, for example, it's difficult to not get carried away. The Reds' talent ID has always been really impressive, but the negotiation to convince these players to join Liverpool shouldn't get overlooked.
In signing Ndukwe, sporting director Richard Hughes has done exceptionally great work, and if he's able to realise his potential, alongside Leoni when he's recovered, then the club will have a glorious future. Others may come and go, but the youngsters being lined up right now are massive talents.
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Comments
This might be the most pathetic and nauseating puff piece I ever read. You managed to write a load of crap over nothing. A couple of kids signed for the U18 side, listing the players that were signed last summer and have so far, bar Ekitike, made no impact, and listing players who have STILL not been extended as they approach the final 2 years, like Konate and Trent were, why? Because the club “want to open talks at some point?” Which we heard about 6 months ago and still hasn’t materialised? Make no mistake, Hughes should be under just as much pressure as Slot to keep his job in what has been a piss poor performance as SD. The writer of this article should never attempt it again, writing is not for him.
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