“I wish the game was starting in five minutes’ time!”
Neil Critchley could barely hide his excitement at his Monday press conference, and no wonder.
Tonight the Liverpool under-23s boss will, for the second time this season, step into Jurgen Klopp’s shoes, taking charge for a first-team fixture as the Reds take on Shrewsbury in an FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Klopp’s decision to afford his senior players – and himself - a week off courted plenty of controversy, but for Critchley and his youngsters, it is a dream opportunity. A full house is expected at Anfield, where ticket prices have been drastically reduced for the night.
Critchley will hope for more luck than in his last outing as manager, when his young side were beaten 5-0 at Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup quarter-final. The Reds earned a lot of praise for their performance that night but, in their manager’s words, “didn’t do well enough in both penalty boxes.”
That experience, Critchley says, was worth “a million training sessions”, and it will be interesting to see how his team perform against a League One side which caused enough problems for senior professionals such as Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Fabinho in the initial tie.
Here, Goal runs you through the ones to watch in the Liverpool side…
Curtis Jones
Age 19
Midfielder/Forward
Critchley says he is yet to decide on his captain for the night, but Jones was named under-23s skipper back in August and will be expecting to wear the armband against Shrewsbury.
If he does, he will become Liverpool’s youngest ever captain – a huge honour for the boyhood Red who grew up on the outskirts of the city centre.
Jones only turned 19 last week, but he has already been able to squeeze plenty in to his fledgling career. Having made his senior debut at Wolves in the FA Cup last January, he was man of the match in his second appearance at MK Dons back in September. In October, he netted the winning spot-kick in front of the Kop as Liverpool beat Arsenal in a penalty shootout, and followed that up by making his Premier League debut at Bournemouth off the bench in December.
The best was yet to come, though, as in the FA Cup third round the teenager scored the winning goal against Everton at Anfield with a stunning 25-yard strike. He netted at Shrewsbury in the initial tie, too.
“Self-belief is probably not one of his weaknesses!” remarked Critchley on Monday. Jones, whether in midfield or as part of the front three, will believe he is the best player on the pitch tonight. The early evidence suggests he has a point.
Getty ImagesHarvey Elliott
Age 16
Forward
You’ll probably have heard the buzz around this kid by now. Elliott is already the youngest player ever to play in the Premier League, and his impact since moving to Liverpool from Fulham in the summer has been clear.
A left-footer who plays off the right flank, the Surrey-born youngster has a sublime touch, an eye for a pass and, as evidenced at under-23 level this season, the ability to score and create goals too.
His talent is precocious, and he shone even against Premier League opposition when facing Villa back in December. That night, he tore Welsh international Neil Taylor apart at times, and he was equally impressive up against Lucas Digne in January’s Everton game.
He was visibly disappointed with his showing down at Shrewsbury, when he was substituted for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but considering he doesn’t turn 17 until April, one would say his inconsistency can be forgiven.
Talent-wise, Liverpool have a gem on their hands.
Getty ImagesNeco Williams
Age 18
Right-back
Few players at Liverpool’s academy have improved more over the last 12 months than the Welsh international.
The quietly-spoken Williams has emerged as an all-action full-back with excellent delivery and a proper competitive edge. His debut came against Arsenal back in October, when he overcame a difficult start defensively to create Liverpool’s stoppage-time equaliser for Divock Origi.
He has since been on the bench eight times, but shone against Everton’s big-money forward Richarlison when starting the FA Cup third-round tie in January. And it was his cross which brought Donald Love’s bizarre own goal in the fourth round at Shrewsbury, too.
Pedro Chirivella
Age 22
Midfield
The oldest member of Critchley’s squad, Chirivella captained the team at Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, and was perhaps the star man as Everton were beaten last month.
Chirivella joined the Reds from Valencia in 2013, and made his senior debut under Brendan Rodgers in a Europa League tie at Bordeaux in September 2015. The initial tie at Shrewsbury was his 10th senior appearance for the club, though he has also enjoyed loan spells at Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II in that time.
A deep-lying midfield player who keeps things ticking over with short, accurate passes, the Spaniard is highly thought of at Melwood, and will be asked to provide calmness and experience in what could be a frenetic contest.
Joe Hardy
Age 21
Striker
How quickly things can change in football.
A month ago, the idea of Joe Hardy playing a first-team game for Liverpool would have been absurd. The Wirral-born striker was at Brentford, having come through the ranks with Manchester City.
Hardy boasted a good record down in London, scoring a goal every other game, but with Liverpool allowing Rhian Brewster to leave for Swansea on loan, and without too many forward options at academy level, the Reds made their move, paying an undisclosed fee for the 21-year-old.
Hardy, who bears similarities to former Reds striker Danny Ings in terms of playing style, has since scored three times in five appearances for the under-23s, and will compete with Canada international Liam Millar for the striking spot. Millar was recalled from Scottish side Kilmarnock last month.
Getty ImagesAnd the rest…
We can expect to see Dutch duo Ki-Jana Hoever and Sepp van den Berg at centre-back - Hoever scored at MK Dons in the League Cup earlier in the season - while Ireland under-21 goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will start in goal.
Yasser Larouci is a doubt with a hamstring injury, which means young Scouser Adam Lewis or Scotsman Tony Gallacher could start at left back.
In midfield both Jake Cain and Leighton Clarkson, key players in last season’s FA Youth Cup-winning side, will hope to feature. Cain is an energetic, high-presser, while Clarkson is a deeper-lying, technical player with an eye for a forward pass.
Luis Longstaff, Morgan Boyes and Tom Hill all started at Villa in the Carabao Cup, and could all be in the squad.