Liverpool have handed out a contract extension to teenage defender Luke Chambers, who impressed during the Reds’ tour of Asia.
Chambers started in Liverpool’s opening pre-season game against Manchester United in Bangkok, in which the Merseyside club were thrashed 4-0 by their North West counterparts.
But despite the defeat, the 18-year-old impressed the coaching team and one day could be a potential future successor to first choice left-back Andy Robertson.
Jurgen Klopp remains committed to developing young players, with further senior starts expected for the likes of Stefan Bejcetic, Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho in the coming season.
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Chambers may be added to this list of youngsters who could make an impact in the first team next season.
Although he’ll be behind both Robertson and Konstantinos Tsmikias, his ability to fill in at the heart of the backline as well as a left-sided full-back could ultimately present him with some minutes in domestic cup competitions.
The possibility of a loan for Chambers has been mooted at Anfield, but the club eventually decided that a contract extension and keeping him within their own ranks was the best thing for his development for the time being.
Tsimikas told Liverpoolfc.com that: “This kid [Chambers] impresses me a lot."
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"He’s a very, very good player and always very focused in the training.”
The new deal adds to the extensive list of business Liverpool have conducted this summer.
Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay and Carvalho have been brought in for a combined fee of around £96 million, while several players have left the club, including Takumi Minamino, Sadio Mane, Divock Origi and Neco Williams.
There have also been major contract extensions for the likes of Mohamed Salah and Joe Gomez, while it’s rumoured that Naby Keita could also be close to putting pen to paper on an extension.
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The focus now seems to be on letting players leave, either on a temporary basis or permanently.
Nat Phillips has suitors in the Premier League, while Sepp Van Den Berg is expected to join Bournemouth on loan.
The likes of Rhys Williams, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Caoimhin Kelleher have also been linked with moves away from the North West.
Topics: Liverpool
Alfie Culshaw