Swansea can benefit from Reds motivation
RHIAN Brewster looks set to return to the starting line-up for Swansea City’s Championship clash with Huddersfield Town this weekend.
The striker started the 4-4 draw with Hull City on the bench but made a fine impact after replacing Wayne Routledge in the 64th minute, with the Liverpool loanee scoring his third goal for the Swans.
Brewster will hope to further add to his tally when Danny Cowley’s Huddersfield visit the Liberty Stadium this weekend.
And those at Anfield have been keeping a close eye on his progress in South Wales.
However, the 19-year-old has an incredibly difficult task on his hands when it comes to forcing his way into Jurgen Klopp’s longterm first team plans.
The Reds are already blessed with options in attack, and Kop icon Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool to add more firepower to their ranks in the summer by signing Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner. “Things can change very quickly,” he told Viasport.
“If you look at Tuesday night (against Atletico Madrid), the big problem for Liverpool is when one of those front three are not playing.
“Sadio Mane had to come off and the player they bring on in is Divock Origi, who is a Liverpool legend because of what happened last year at the Wanda Metropolitano, but it’s not quite good enough for the best team in the world to be bringing that quality on.
“Liverpool do need a top attacking player to come in the summer. Sancho or Werner? I’ll take both.”
Brewster is set to return to Merseyside in the summer once his loan deal with Swansea expires.
With the likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Divock Origi already at Anfield, Brewster could struggle to make the grade under Klopp next season.
It could well be that he is sent out on a season-long loan deal, although given the financial situation at Swansea, it seems unlikely that a return to the Liberty Stadium would be on the cards.
For the time being at least, Brewster will hope to continue his development under Steve Cooper and bang in the goals to get the Swans’ play-off push back on track as well as giving Klopp plenty to ponder ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
■ Former Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng says he’s close to completing a move to La Liga after seeing his chances of a return to Korea evaporate.
The midfielder saw his contract at previous club Newcastle United terminated by mutual consent during the recent January window, but now looks set to continue his career in Europe after negotiations with teams in his homeland fell through.
Ki initially sought a return to former club FC Seoul, but the two sides could not come to an agreement, much to the player’s frustration.
He has since been linked with second tier Spanish side SD Huesca, but has now confirmed that he is close to a deal with a team in La Liga, with Real Betis and Real Mallorca among those mentioned as possible suitors.
“I’ve been dreaming of playing in Spain since I was young,” he added.
“I am probably more excited now than when I first joined the
Rhian Brewster can stake his Liverpool claim by shining at Swansea City
Premier League (in 2012 with Swansea City). Taking on a new challenge always means something.
“I am obviously looking forward to a chance to go up against Lionel Messi (of Barcelona). Just being in the same match as those players will prove valuable even after I retire, if I decide to stay in football.”