It was a baptism of fire for many of Liverpool’s players against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Considering that the club’s academy players needed to line up against the Villans at Villa Park in the League Cup, it was not too much of a surprise to see them to lose 5-0 against Dean Smith’s men. And even despite that thrashing, there were some positives for Neil Critchley and co to take away from the match – they had more shots and also managed 58% possession.
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Herbie Kane did not have the best game, though. He managed a WhoScored rating of just 6.6 which, although not absolutely atrocious, should have probably been higher considering he was one of the more experienced heads amongst the Reds on the evening at the age of 21.
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That match was only his second appearance for the Anfield outfit, and it was just his 51st in professional football as a whole. Now, after that display, it is being said by Goal.com that Liverpool are ready to sell him in January.
This was probably his last chance to impress the 52-year-old boss and stake a claim for a place around the first-team squad in the future, but there is very little, if nothing at all, that will have made Klopp stand up and take notice. Especially when you consider that Harvey Elliott, five years his junior at just 16 years of age, stood out amongst his peers.
With Doncaster Rovers last term, he scored seven goals and provided 10 assists in 49 matches, which does show that he could probably do a job at a lower level. However, that does not mean that he has the ability to feature for Liverpool. At 21, and with just two appearances to his name, you feel his time has run out on Merseyside. A move away to a Championship club like Charlton or Hull – who are said to be after him – would be the best thing for all involved.
In other news, one Liverpool man shows his experience against Aston Villa.