Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LIVERPOOL’S GOT TALENT
BY JOHN RICHARDSON THE accolades came thick and fast for Kaide Gordon – the latest kid off the Kop conveyer belt of teenage talent.
At 16 years, 351 days the winger lured from hard-up Derby, for a fee which could rise to £3.4million, was not overawed by his call-up for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup vitory at Norwich.
An affectionate arm around the shoulder and a well done from proud manager Jurgen Klopp following the 3-0 win confirmed the Anfield belief in their latest precocious talent was not just hype.
Gordon had played his part with some enterprising runs and confident attempts at goal but there is still plenty of hard work ahead if he is to avoid the fate of similar young wannabees.
And it’s not always been sweet 16 for some of Liverpool’s young guns, certainly something Kop record breaker Jerome Sinclair can testify to.
At 16 years and six days the striker who was labelled the next Michael Owen remains Liverpool’s youngest ever debutant.
Back in 2012 he appeared to have the football world at his feet after moving from West Brom at the age of 14.
Injuries and an underwhelming loan spell at Wigan was the start of a promising Liverpool career unravelling.
But Klopp could see the signs that he was easily distracted by the financial rewards.
“What we try to do is create a situation where younger players know it is not important to get the highest wages in your life in the first year of your career,” was Klopp’s pointed reference to a contract stand-off with Sinclair which saw him move on to Watford, a tribunal setting the fee at £4m.
It was downhill from there after failing to nail down a first-team place with loan moves to Birmingham, Sunderland, Oxford United, Dutch club VVV-Venlo, and he was last seen in Bulgaria with CSKA Sofia.
Jack Robinson was originally Liverpool’s youngest player at the age of 16 years, 250 days, coming on as a substitute in Rafa Benitez’s last game in charge in 2010.
But there were just another nine appearances in four years at Anfield for the current Sheffield United defender.
Ki-Jana Hoever at 16 years, 354 days became Liverpool’s youngest ever FA Cup debutant replacing the injured Dejan Lovren against Wolves.
Despite early rave reviews there was to be no Premier League appearance and he left for Wolves in a £9m deal.
But there have been 16-year-olds given their opportunities who have survived.
Harvey Elliott (above) and James Norris are still very much in favour at Liverpool.
Elliott has made great strides in the first team this season until suffering a horrific ankle injury, while Norris is well thought of in the academy and signed a new long-term contract in August.
For the others it is a sobering tale of what might have been.