Arne Slot has faced a barrage of criticism from Liverpool fans this season for a perceived unwillingness to blood the club’s young players.
The Dutchman has regularly kept teenaged duo Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni around the first-team, but has not played either enough for some fans’ liking.
Both Ngumoha and Nyoni were given an extended run-out during Wednesday’s win over Qarabag, however, with the pair still likely to have a big future at Liverpool.
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Who on earth is playing at right-back for Liverpool vs Newcastle?
The rest of the XI picks itself, surely?
Liverpool Predicted XI vs Newcastle
Liverpool Predicted XI vs Newcastle
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Meanwhile, Slot signalled how highly he rates Amara Nallo by also giving him a good 15 minutes in the Champions League fixture and there have been signs recently that the Liverpool head coach is ready to offer more chances to young players.
The next opportunity to do that comes on Saturday evening as Liverpool face Newcastle United at Anfield. And in the build-up to another big Premier League match, Slot has run the rule over 15-year-old academy starlet Josh Abe.
Josh Abe trains with Liverpool’s first-team
Plenty of Liverpool supporters will already be very aware of the talents Abe possesses. He has been earning rave reviews at the academy for the past year or so.
Abe has been described as the biggest talent at the club and as a pacy, direct winger he is exactly what the first-team are missing right now.
Liverpool academy youngster Josh Abe runs with the ball during an U18s match against Burnley at the AXA Training Centre
Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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Clearly, 15 is extremely young to be placing big expectations on players but some are simply too good to ignore.
After Abe confirmed on his Instagram stories that he took part in Thursday’s first-team session at the AXA Training Centre, it appears Liverpool may be taking this stance with him.
“First team training,” wrote the teenager along with a tick emoji as he shared a shot of his Liverpool training gear and boots. He is unlikely to be involved against Newcastle, but this is a step forward nonetheless.
Does any moment this season come close to Rio Ngumoha’s Newcastle heroics?
THAT 97th-minute winner last time out 🙌
Rio Ngumoha vs Liverpool
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
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Liverpool may be trying to tempt Abe into staying
If Liverpool fans have heard anything about Abe, aside from his abundant talents, it will be in regards to his potential exit from the club.
Abe was spotted at Real Madrid recently as a guest of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s, and news recently came through that the youngster has signed with the agency of the former Liverpool right-back’s brother.
That looks like being bad news for the Reds, although if Abe does have his eye on a move to the Bernabeu he will have to wait until he is 18.
In the meantime, promoting him to first-team training so early is likely an attempt to show Abe that Liverpool is the best place for his development.
Whatever the criticisms of Slot in this area, he has still shown that if young players are good enough they will get some opportunities, the bar has simply been raised in terms of the standard needed. If Abe can meet those standards, maybe we will start to see him in and around the senior squad more. From there, perhaps he will be tempted to stay after all.
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