Prince Cisse just marked his Liverpool U21 debut with a goal against Tottenham, following in his father’s footsteps.
Djibril Cisse’s memorable two-year spell at Anfield could yet be outdone by his 17-year-old son, who is already starring in the Premier League 2.
Prince has been in the Liverpool academy setup since the age of six, and has had a sharp rise to the U21s.
He’s a versatile centre-back who only recently started playing at the heart of defence, having previously played as a striker, right winger, and right-back. That might have something to do with him grabbing a goal on his first U21 outing.
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Liverpool coach Aaron Briggs pictured during the warm-up ahead of Arsenal vs Liverpool in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA
Here’s everything you need to know about the young Red.
Liverpool U21 star Prince Cisse playstyle
As a forward for much of his youth career, Cisse has the on-ball ability that is a requirement for the modern elite centre-back.
He’s not the most imposing of figures just yet, but he will get stronger and maybe even taller than his 5’11” listed height.
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As he told The LFC Academy on X, Cisse’s footballing idol is Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. When asked for three words to describe his own playstyle, he picked ‘fast’, ‘composed’ and ‘elegant’.
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Watching him against Spurs, he didn’t look out of his depth for one minute. Liverpool were in control and Cisse stood firm. The win takes them just two points off the summit.
Prince Cisse on comparisons to father Djibril and his own Liverpool ambitions
Likely in anticipation of his U21 debut, Cisse sat down for an interview shared on the Liverpool website, where he was of course asked about his father, who was one of the 2005 Istanbul heroes and a goalscorer in the 2006 FA Cup final.
He says: “”I’ve seen the highlights,” Prince says. “It’s nice to watch him back, see what he was like. A bit of a crazy player with his mad hairstyles and all that. Me playing centre-back now, he was probably a striker that I wouldn’t want to play against. He seemed like a good player.
UK - Prince William at FA Cup Final
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“I had pace but maybe my goalscoring ability probably wasn’t as good as his, hence why I’ve been moved to centre-back. He was lightning-quick but I’d say I’m maybe a bit quicker.”
The teenager will want to shed the ‘son’ label in the coming years and establish his own name at Liverpool.
Asked about his goals, he responds: “Short term, I just hope to keep progressing, getting better, keep starting in the U18s and maybe play a couple of U21s games – who knows?
“Then long term, I obviously want to get in the first team. I want to play for Liverpool for the rest of my life really – that’s what I want to do.”
Well, he scratched one item off the list on Sunday — with an exclamation point. One to watch for the future.
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