Liverpool youngster Kaide Gordon could have an important role to play for the club this season with his 17-month injury nightmare coming to an end.
Gordon, 18, joined Liverpool from Derby County in 2021 for a fee which could reach £4m including add-ons.
The youngster, who primarily plays on the right wing but can also operate across the forward line, became the second-youngest goal scorer in Liverpool's history when he scored in an FA Cup third round win over Shrewsbury Town in January, 2022.
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He made his Premier League debut for the Reds later that month and was expected to kick on that season.
However, a serious pelvic injury the following month prematurely ended his season and subsequently ruled him out of the entire 2022-23 campaign.
Gordon is finally expected to return to full training later this month and could play a role in pre-season, although Wednesday's opening warm-up match against Karlsruher will come too soon for the youngster.
Gordon set for senior squad role?
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A potential clue that Gordon is set for an important role this season has been spotted on Liverpool's website.
After the club's new away kit for the 2023/24 kit was released last week, fans were given the usual option of adding a player's name and number to the back of the shirt.
Eagle-eyed supporters noticed that Gordon's name was included as one of the selectable options – unlike the majority of the club's academy players.
Other youngsters such as Stefan Bajcetic, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones were included – but all three featured regularly for Liverpool last season.
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The likes of Ben Doak, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton were not included, unlike Gordon – suggesting the winger could be part of Klopp's plans for the upcoming campaign.
Nat Phillips was also not initially included, leading to speculation he could be sold by the club this summer.
However, his name was later added as an option by the club.
What has Klopp said?
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Speaking in January last year after Gordon scored his first senior goal, Klopp hailed the youngster as an ‘exceptional’ talent destined for a bright future.
"That's Kaide. In these situations, he's really calm," Klopp said.
"I will not say that for the rest of career he'll always score in these situations, but I'm pretty sure [he will] more often than not!
"Because that's just him, when a cross comes from the left side, you will find him in the box. He's good there as well – he has a nose for that, that's really helpful. I know he's the second-youngest goalscorer for Liverpool, which is absolutely exceptional, but there's a way to go.
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"No problem, Kaide has time, we will give him time, he will have his minutes here and there, and if he's working as hard as he has so far… Because not to forget, he only just came back from Covid as well. I think he had two or three proper sessions, that’s it.
"It's really not easy then to show up in a game like this, but he did and all credit to him."
Topics: Liverpool, Premier League, Football
Rory O'Callaghan