Liverpool U21s manager Rob Page has outlined the next steps for young strikers Jayden Danns and Will Wright and the early impact that Andoni Iraola has had at Anfield
Liverpool striker Jayden Danns.
Liverpool striker Jayden Danns.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool forward Jayden Danns could head out on loan before the transfer deadline, with the 20-year-old having made a long-awaited return to action against Everton on Friday.
Danns, who missed most of last season because of a hamstring injury, came off the bench at Goodison Park as Liverpool U21s drew 1-1 with the Blues. Will Wright scored and Harvey Davies was sent off, with center-back Mor Talla Ndiaye finishing the game in goal.
"(Danns) needs game time, but that will definitely help him," Reds U21s boss Rob Page said. "He has looked really strong in training and that was a difficult game for him to come into — local derby, Everton away, Goodison Park.
"He couldn't wait to get out there, but we weren't in complete control of it. It was quite a feisty encounter, which added spice to it, but with regards to Jayden, he is in a good place.
"There are conversations we can have now that he has played some minutes.
"Now he looks in good condition, the next step for us is to have those conversations and have a sit down together as a collective, to do the right thing for Jayden, whatever that may be.
"We'll have conversations and we'll come up with the right thing for Dannsy."
Jayden Danns during a Liverpool U21 training session.
Jayden Danns during a Liverpool U21 training session.(Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Wright, who netted the opener early in the game against Everton, is much less likely to head out in search of more senior minutes. Signed from Salford City a year ago, he looks set to lead the line for the U21s this term.
"Again, if it is the right loan move and the right club that suits him, and we're going to get the best out of him, I can't imagine we'd ever turn it down, but for Will's development, it might be that he stays in," Page said.
"We don't know. Let's get to the window, get things on the table or not, and we'll have a discussion if it's best for him to stay in and train and be around the first team until January, then fine.
"If not, and the right club comes in, and we choose to let him go on loan, it has got to be what is right for the player."
Page also outlined the early impact that Andoni Iraola has had on the Liverpool youth players, with Wright among those to have been with the first team on the US pre-season tour.
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"(Iraola) has been excellent, and the staff," Page explained. "The lads he has brought in with him as well have been really welcoming.
"We have had many a meeting in the gaffer's office. He has spoken about his methodology and his identity and how he wants to be with and without the ball. I'm really excited about what the season looks like for us.
"The intensity of training, we're going to get knocks in training because that is all part and parcel of it.
"He has put a stamp on it straight away. He wants to change the intensity and to do that, you have to train it — you can't just turn up on a Saturday and expect to turn it on.
"We have seen a difference in the players who have been up there with the seniors and dropped back down. We've seen that intensity, which is great.
"It gets the younger ones who have stepped up from the 18s this year a bit of an insight into what it's like, so it's all positive."