Liverpool’s loan stars have three players they can look to as inspiration for their own long-term careers at Anfield
If Jarell Quansah’s new contract was understandably great news for the Liverpool defender himself, there might have been a handful of others who will have been privately enthused by developments too. The rise of the Warrington-born centre-back has been well documented since he made his senior debut in a smash-and-grab victory for 10 men against Newcastle United in August of 2023.
A full debut arrived the following month at Wolves and from there, Quansah has never really looked back in the Premier League.
But if the 21-year-old is not casting too many glances back to the time when he was out on loan under Joey Barton at Bristol Rovers, Quansah’s meteoric rise to first-team stardom – one now reflected by his brand new terms – might be something others currently out on loan are looking towards for inspiration.
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In a different era, a loan spell was usually the beginning of the end of someone’s career on Merseyside but recent years have shown that is no longer the precursor to a Liverpool exit and Quansah, in particular, could perhaps become something of a role model for those currently on short-term stays elsewhere.
Stefan Bajcetic, for example, might have few long-term concerns about his own Liverpool tenure given the performances shown under Jurgen Klopp prior to a serious injury picked up in March 2023. But comments from Arne Slot, made on transfer deadline day, furthered the idea that the young Spaniard’s future is with the Reds, despite being farmed out to Red Bull Salzburg.
“If you are that young and you’ve been out for so long, the only thing you need is playing time,” Slot said at the time. “He could have playing time over here, but we’ve got six or seven very good midfielders, so his playing time here will always be more limited than we expect him to play at Salzburg.
“So for him, and us, we think it’s best for him to play at the moment, instead of maybe playing a few times and then being on the bench for a long time again. It’s very difficult to keep a player fit who’s been out for 15 months when you only play him once in a while.
“So this is for the long term. Again, this club has been smart, in my opinion, in the past for not only looking for the short term, but also the long term. It’s a smart decision, at least in our opinion, to let him go somewhere, where he will hopefully play a lot of games. Then for next season, we’ll have a player. If he fulfils his potential, [he] could definitely, definitely play for us in the future.”
Two other loanees whose status as future Liverpool first-teamers are less certain, however, are Ben Doak and Kaide Gordon; two wingers made deadline day moves to Middlesbrough and Norwich City, respectively.
It’s over three years now since Gordon made his senior debut in a Carabao Cup win at Norwich City but he only turned 20 on October 5. The former Derby County winger had outgrown the Under-21s setup towards the end of last season and has been used from the bench so far with the Canaries, scoring in a 4-0 win over Hull City earlier this month.
Doak, meanwhile, has started the last three games and registered his first senior goal in a win over Stoke City last month, which was followed by a subsequent call-up to the senior Scotland squad, having been forced to miss the European Championship through injury.
“I’m really pleased for Ben and as a coach I’m pleased with Ben. That’s his first start, I’m sure it won’t be his last,” Scotland boss Steve Clarke said after their 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Saturday evening. “He’s got attributes and qualities. That’s why he’s in the squad.
“That’s why I tried to put him in the squad in the summer before his injury showed up. We see what Ben’s got for us. But we’re also careful. You have to be careful with young players. You have to bring them through at the right time.
“Obviously, injury-wise, it’s probably accelerated his debut. And his debut was good or his first start was good. We can build on that. Whether he’s got the legs and the energy to go on Tuesday night [against Portugal] after such a big shift tonight, we can assess over the next couple of days. Let’s enjoy Ben, but let’s not put too much pressure on him.”
Another player who the likes of Doak and Gordon can look to as an example to follow is Conor Bradley, whose return from Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2023 saw a renewed determination from the new Northern Ireland captain to break into the senior ranks more regularly at Anfield.
Bradley grasped his chance with both hands last season during Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s injury absence, turning a sensational performance in particular against Chelsea at Anfield in January before helping the Reds win the Carabao Cup against the same side at Wembley in late February. He is now an important member of the squad under new head coach Slot.
“When players outgrow the U21s, the job can become a little more difficult,” U21s boss Barry Lewtas told the ECHO earlier this year. “Not because they are bad lads, but sometimes motivation-wise and performance-wise players can stagnate. They overstay their welcome, so to speak. The players themselves are usually the ones keen to go out on loan as they want to show what they can do at the next level.
“Yes, sometimes it can seem to leave us short at U21 level. But that’s part of it and it gives opportunity to other players to step up. We love the lads being on loan, I love going to watch them or keep an eye on them on television,.
“Loans are a huge part of what we do. Exposing players at the right time to senior football is important, and we’re already starting to see the benefit of that here.”
A less recent emblem is Harvey Elliott, who solidified himself as a fixture of the first team after an excellent spell with Blackburn Rovers, where he finished second to Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, then of Reading, in the running for young Championship player of the season back in the 2020/21 campaign.
The former Fulham teenager, having spent his first season at Anfield on the fringes of a Premier League-winning squad, was given the confidence and experience needed to make himself an important figure for Klopp after that term at Ewood Park.
Elliott and Bradley’s periods away from Liverpool were almost textbook in preparing them both for senior football at Anfield and for Doak, Gordon and Bajcetic, they, like Quansah, are the model that trio of loan stars will be looking to follow going forward.
