Rhian Brewster has the trust of Jurgen Klopp, possesses a goalscorer’s instinct and the teenager is ready to seize his chance at Liverpool after starting the new season with a brace against Tranmere
- Rhian Brewster scored twice on Thursday as Liverpool beat Tranmere 6-0
- The 18-year-old is ready to seize his chance to earn regular first team minutes
- He has the trust of Jurgen Klopp and showed his quality in the Prenton Park win
- Brewster’s form means Liverpool are not rushing to replace Daniel Sturridge
Rhian Brewster is a youngster with big ambitions and he started what he hopes will be his breakthrough season in fine style by making the headlines in Liverpool’s opening friendly.
Liverpool have high hopes for the 18-year-old, so much so that they are not in a hurry to look for a player to replace Daniel Sturridge, who has left the club following the expiration of his contract.
A sign of how highly Jurgen Klopp regards Brewster was shown when he named him in his squad for the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona last season.
Rhian Brewster was the star as Liverpool hit Tranmere for six in their first pre-season game
The 18-year-old is determined to become a regular feature of the first team squad this season
Brewster will be given opportunities in the new campaign and his desire to receive them sooner rather than later was illustrated by the two goals he scored in Liverpool’s annual fixture with neighbours Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.
The art of being a top goalscorer is being in the right place at the right time and that was certainly true for Liverpool’s No 24.
Brewster’s first, which arrived in the 37th minute, was a back post header following good work by Harry Wilson; his second, which gave Liverpool a 3-0 lead, came when he pounced inside the six-yard box after Tranmere keeper Scott Davis had parried a shot from James Milner.
He was a menace during his 45 minutes on the pitch as he hit two goals in the comfortable win
Brewster’s form is likely to see Liverpool hold off in replacing departed striker Daniel Sturridge
With Liverpool having only returned to training last Saturday, it was always Klopp’s intention to play two separate line-ups for 45 minutes and Brewster was in a team that included Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Joe Gomez and Nathaniel Clyne, who opened the scoring after seven minutes with a fierce right footed drive.
The game, which attracted a sell-out crowd, was watched by Harvey Elliott, the 16-year-old who became the youngest player in Premier League history last season. Liverpool are in the process of wrapping up a deal to sign him from Fulham.
He will become their second signing of the window, following the acquisition of Sepp van der Berg, who is awaiting international clearance to make his debut.
Tranmere have made huge progress under Micky Mellon and have a campaign in League One to look forward to following their play-off final victory over Newport but the gulf in class was evident throughout.
Liverpool’s team was spiced with youth in the second half but that did not stop them scoring and Curtis Jones, another teenager who is on Klopp’s radar, made it 4-0 before Divock Origi celebrated his new contract with the fifth.
Jurgen Klopp rates Brewster highly and had him on the bench against Barcelona last season
A number of younger players like Brewster and Harry Wilson (left) are pushing to now kick on
Unsurprisingly, given the role he played in helping Liverpool secure their sixth European Cup, that goal received the loudest cheer of the night.
There was still time for more and Bobby Duncan, a relation of club legend Steven Gerrard and a member of last season’s FA Youth Cup winning team, scored the sixth when drilling in a shot from close range.
It was a satisfactory workout for Liverpool with the only negative being an apparent hamstring injury to youth team captain Paul Glatzel that led to Dan Atheron, a goalkeeper by trade, taking the young German’s place up front.
