MY TIME IS NOW
A horror ankle injury stalled his career for 14 months but, just three weeks after leaving Liverpool, Rhian Brewster returns to Anfield and says...
RHIAN BREWSTER has an eye- catching tattoo on his left hand of a clock alongside a quote of special significance. ‘When I got injured I was out for a long time,’ said Sheffield United’s new club- record £23.5million striker (below).
‘You look for stuff that helps you and symbolises your life. The quote “timing is everything” does symbolise it.’
How he recovered from the ankle injury that led to a 14-month lay-off and returned a stronger player was proof of that. More could come today at Anfield if his return — three weeks after leaving Liverpool — turns out to be another landmark occasion in his fledgling career. ‘It’s going to be a bit weird,’ said Brewster, 20.
‘But it will be nice to see everybody. I didn’t get to say goodbye because it happened so quickly.’
Brewster joined Liverpool aged 14 and was immensely popular among players and staff. His finishing ability in particular impressed his former team-mates and the long list of Liverpool players he struck up good relationships with, both young and senior, was testament to his popularity.
In an ideal world, Jurgen Klopp would have kept him. Unable to offer the regular football he needs, Liverpool could not stand in his way when Chris Wilder’s persuasive pitch convinced the likeable Londoner that Bramall Lane was the best place for him.
Brewster arrived armed with bags of potential and some priceless experiences, including being part of the squad for Liverpool’s famous Champions League comeback against Barcelona and final win over Spurs.
Lessons learned from Klopp and stars like Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah will not be forgotten either. James Milner also left a big impression, epitomising Liverpool’s ‘very, very high standards’. Brewster said: ‘Not one person slacks off and I’ll always remember that. ‘Milner, for example. He’s in his 30s and still going strong. That’s because he is always in the gym, eating right, doing everything he can to be the best.
‘That’s something I’ll 100 per cent take from Liverpool.’
Thierry Henry was the player who inspired a young Brewster to dream of becoming a professional. His dad Ian, a former goalkeeper for non- League Brimsdown FC, was another major influence.
Brewster recalled: ‘I always used to be on the side when he played. Players on the bench used to kick the ball with me. By the time I was 12, I was the one warming him up. He didn’t like them warming him up because he said they were all rubbish, they couldn’t kick the ball straight!’
Brewster would have provided a genuine test of his dad’s shotstopping skills. He was on Chelsea’s books by then.
Fast forward to 2017 and he was spearheading the England Under 17 side that reached the European Championship final and won the World Cup. ‘Sanch (Jadon Sancho) just got a move to Dortmund, Phil Foden got player of the tournament, I got the Golden Boot (with eight goals),’ Brewster said. ‘Eyes were all around our team and what is going to happen next. There was a lot of talk about me making my debut.’
Then, at the start of the following year, injury struck. The setback and knee complications brought his progress to a halt and inspired the tattoo.
The timing, it seemed, could hardly have been worse.
Not least when he saw Sancho, Foden and another Under 17 team-mate, Callum HudsonOdoi, graduating to club firstteam football and England’s senior side. Yet Brewster used his time out to study other strikers and develop physically. His mum Hulya, sister Jaylece, friends and ‘the whole of Liverpool from the owners down’ gave him support that he ‘ can’t thank them enough’ for. And during his first taste of regular senior football at Swansea last season, with his England Under 17 boss Steve Cooper, he scored 11 goals in 22 games. ‘I was a little boy at the start at Swansea and I’ve grown into a young man,’ Brewster smiled. ‘ For me, timing is everything.’ Now, it seems, his time has come. Brewster said: ‘I’ve left a lot of people behind at Liverpool. It was a difficult decision, but hopefully everyone else sees I made the right decision to go to Sheffield United.’