What happened to Steven Gerrard’s cousin who controversially left Liverpool despite being the next big thing?

Bobby Duncan, the cousin of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, has had a rollercoaster of a career since leaving the Reds.

Off the back of several impressive performances for the under-18s during the the 2018/19 season, including scoring the equaliser during the FA Youth Cup final win of Manchester City, Duncan looked certain to become a Liverpool star.

The young striker's talents were later recognised by legendary Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, who handed Duncan his first minutes in the senior team during a 6-0 win over Tranmere Rovers in the 2019/20 pre-season.

But Duncan's Liverpool career took a sharp turn just one month later, and he now finds himself in a completely different situation.

In August 2019, Duncan's former agent, Saif Rubie made shocking accusations that, despite his relations to club legend Gerrard, Liverpool were "bullying" Duncan claiming the club and holding back his career progression.

Reacting to the Rubie, Liverpool released a statement, reading: "Liverpool Football Club is aware of and disappointed by the unattributed comments and unfounded allegations that have been made in the media regarding one of our players.

"As the interests of the player in question are not best served by either inaccurate speculation, inflammatory statements or public discourse, we will be making no further comment.

"We will, however, continue our efforts to work privately with the player to find resolution in the best interests of all involved."

Despite seemingly trying to mend their clearly fractured relationship, Duncan was later transferred to Italian side Fiorentina Primavera in September 2019 for a reported fee of £1.8 million.

The Englishman struggled during his spell in the Serie A side's youth team, making just 12 appearances, and ultimately decided to return to his home country a year later, joining Derby County's U21 side.

Bobby Duncan was once seen as a huge future prospect for Liverpool. (Image: Getty)

But his time at Derby went similarly, as Duncan had limited minutes, making just 7 appearances and enjoying only 275 minutes side the side during his two years there.

In July 2022, Duncan joined his first senior team, as he moved to Real Balompédica Linense, who, at the time, played in the Spanish third-division.

He continued to struggled, making only eight appearances leading to him leaving the club following the expiration of his contract in July 2023.

Since then, the 23-year-old is yet to find a new club and remains a free agent who was decided to keep a low profile, setting all of his social media accounts set to private.