Tony Barrett
Raheem Sterling, a 16-year-old schoolboy, could become the youngest player in Liverpool’s history after he was named in Kenny Dalglish’s party for tomorrow night’s Europa League tie away to Sparta Prague.
Such is Sterling’s youth, he is able to make the trip to the Czech capital because he is on half-term holiday from Rainhill High School, where he is in the final year of his senior education.
One of the first moves Dalglish made after taking over as caretaker manager in early January was to promote the highly rated teenager to the A list of Liverpool’s Europa League squad, a clear indication of his growing belief that Sterling’s precocious talent makes him worthy of being fast-tracked into the first-team picture.
Dalglish was at Anfield on Monday night to see Sterling score five goals for Liverpool’s youth team in their 9-0 rout of Southend United in the FA Youth Cup, a glittering virtuoso performance that served only to underline why the Merseyside club signed him from Queens Park Rangers for an initial fee of £500,000 last March.
The Jamaican-born youngster was one of the final recruits of Rafael Benítez’s reign, although Dalglish, who was working at the club’s academy at the time, was also instrumental in securing his signature.
Given his age and talent, Sterling will inevitably be seen as a symbol of the renaissance that is taking place at the academy, a revival that will lead to three further products from Liverpool’s youth ranks being included in Dalglish’s squad for the tie in Prague.
Conor Coady, a midfield player who captains the England Under-18 team, and Jonathan Flanagan, an 18-year-old right back whose progress in recent months has caught Dalglish’s eye, have both been called up to the squad.
Jack Robinson, a left back who holds the record for being Liverpool’s youngest player at 16 years and 250 days, has also been included. But his record will be broken should Sterling be given any playing time in Prague as the England Under-17 player will be 16 years and 71 days on the day of the game.
The production line of talent that once thrust the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher into Liverpool’s first-team ranks had ground to a halt in recent years, prompting a recent overhaul in which Frank McParland was appointed as academy director and the Spanish coaches, Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, were recruited to oversee technical development.
Benítez’s decision to utilise Dalglish’s expertise and experience by handing him a role at the academy was also significant, one of a number of changes that Dalglish himself believes is already paying dividends.
“That’s great credit to Rafa who brought in Pep Segura, Rodolfo Borrell and Frank McParland,” Dalglish said recently. “He reorganised the whole academy and you can see the benefit in the kids now. It’s fantastic to see. The reserve team’s average age has been drastically reduced.”
congratz to him...a player who scores 5 goals in a youth match deserve this reward!