James Pearce has made the case for Jurgen Klopp to give one talented youngster at Liverpool some first-team minutes during the final month of the season.

A series of injuries to key players earlier this year led to Jayden Danns being called up to the senior side, with his four appearances including a substitute outing in the Carabao Cup final and two goals in the FA Cup win over Southampton.

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In an article for The Athletic in which he discussed the Reds’ ‘wayward finishing’ in recent games, the journalist called for the 18-year-old to be utilised off the bench as a possible solution to the team’s attacking woes of late.

Pearce wrote: “There is also an argument to be made that young Jayden Danns should be used as an impact sub. The teenager did not look out of place when used earlier in the campaign and scored a brilliant back-heel for the under-21s against Manchester United last Friday.”

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Klopp has nothing to lose by trusting in Danns over the final few weeks of Liverpool’s season, especially at a time when several of our senior forwards are misfiring.

The teenager has shown that he can score at this level, and as Pearce referenced, his goal in the under-21’s victory over United last week was a thing of beauty.

The 18-year-old trained with the Reds’ squad today ahead of the Europa League clash against Atalanta on Thursday night, and imagine what an effective wildcard option he could be off the bench if we stage a revival after the 3-0 battering at Anfield six days ago.

Even if the tie gets away from us, it could be worth throwing Danns into the fray to give him further minutes with an eye to possibily utilising him across our final six Premier League matches of the campaign.

He came good a few weeks ago in Liverpool’s hour of need during the injury crisis. He deserves to be given another shot amid the ongoing fallow period in the final third for our senior attackers.

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Jayden Danns has been one of the standout members of Klopp’s Kids this season and he’s continuing to show why we all think so much of him.

Liverpool U21s beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford in Premier League 2 but the Scouser stole the headlines with one special moment.

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Lewis Koumas, another young man who’s starred for the first-team this season, drove down the left wing and then found the striker in the box.

The 18-year-old showed his strength and skill as he held two defenders off before expertly back-heeling the ball into the back of the net.

You can watch Danns’ goal via @LFC on X:

Absolutely magnificent from Jayden Danns pic.twitter.com/OSgP70vqcB

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 12, 2024

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Jayden Danns looks to have suffered some painful contact in training ahead of Liverpool’s league meeting with Manchester United.

The Reds youngster was spotted arriving at Old Trafford this afternoon sporting a rather sore-looking black eye.

We can only presume that the 18-year-old attacker caught a loose elbow or arm in training!

The teenager has been included within Jurgen Klopp’s matchday squad for our impending tie with Erik ten Hag’s inconsistent Red Devils outfit.

You can catch the photo below:

Oof! Jayden Danns looks to have taken a sore one in training! #LFC pic.twitter.com/C0g1GxspKg

— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) April 7, 2024

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Jayden Danns was a name that most Liverpool fans hadn’t heard before the season began but now the 18-year-old is a familiar face for our supporters.

His performance as captain for his England age group showed how he’s quite literally head and shoulders above many of his teammates.

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The forward performed for the Under-18s as they drew with Germany in the Pinatar Super Cup, before the skipper scored in a victorious penalty shoot-out.

There may be some more opportunities for the Scouser this season but it still seems that the future is very bright for him.

You can watch Danns’ highlights via @cflsilo on X:

pic.twitter.com/iU24zkY2Ho

— . (@cflsilo) March 23, 2024

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Jayden Danns has admitted it’s ‘mental’ to be around Ibrahima Konate in the first-team at Liverpool.

The Englishman admitted he’s still a little overawed looking at the former RB Leipzig centre-half.

“To be fair, all of them have been brilliant to me. I mean, they’ve been really welcoming, but I’d say Ibou [Konate] has probably been the biggest one,” the 18-year-old told the club’s official website.

“He’s so bubbly as a character, you can’t describe him as a personality, you go up there and he is like: ‘Dannsy!’

“It’s mental, to be honest, and I’m looking at him still thinking he’s like a film character because I’ve watched him all these years! When he’s putting his arm around you, you just feel at home.”

The forward has enjoyed an impressive start to life as a Red. He was voted the player of the match with his goalscoring performance against Southampton in the FA Cup in late February.

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Liverpool deserve credit for youth set-up

No matter who Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards opt to bring in as the next manager of Liverpool, they will inherit a world-class structure.

The first-team squad is young, extremely talented and supported by a class of remarkable young talent from the Academy.

Whilst the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Vitor Matos have to be credited with ensuring pathways to the first-team, the roles of the likes of Alex Inglethorpe, Barry Lewtas and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson can’t be forgotten.

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Pep Lijnders has already confirmed that the plan is to step away from Liverpool Football Club once Jurgen Klopp calls time on his Anfield career.

The Dutchman will join the likes of Vitor Matos and Pete Krawietz in departing the club.

That said, Jayden Danns’ complimentary words on the assistant manager perhaps indicate that this may not be the wisest decision.

“So, yeah, every time you speak with him it’s meaningful and his biggest message is probably to just work hard and even Pep [Lijnders], he has been a big influence in me as well and his message was to work hard and do the same thing as well,” the Academy graduate told liverpoolfc.com.

The appointment of Richard Hughes as the Reds’ next sporting director has kicked off the official search for a new head coach.

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Next Liverpool manager: Could Pep Lijnders be the right fit?

Football isn’t littered with tales of assistant coaches going on to take their clubs to new heights.

Liverpool, of course, does bear a very rich history in this regard thanks to the mythical Boot Room Boys; an inner sanctum that once boasted Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Ronnie Moran, Kenny Dalglish and Roy Evans.

Times have since changed to a significant degree, but could lessons be learned?

Lijnders is rightly credited with some of the tactical innovations that have shaped Liverpool’s evolution under Jurgen Klopp.

That said it would be a huge gamble to entrust him with the future of this squad. A bigger gamble, perhaps, than handing over the reins to ex-Red Xabi Alonso.

Judging by comments from members of the current squad, including Danns, we may be missing a trick here.

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Jayden Danns has committed his immediate and long-term future to Liverpool by signing a fresh contract.

The Reds’ official X account shared the news in question this morning on social media.

Jayden Danns has signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool FC.

Congratulations, Jayden

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 15, 2024

This follows a terrific start to life in senior football for the 18-year-old attacker who made his debut against Luton Town in February.

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A fast start to life in the senior side

There were two goals against promotion-chasing Southampton in the FA Cup that particularly caught the eye.

Speaking to ITV (via BBC Sport) at the time, Jurgen Klopp praised his young striker’s finishing: “Dannsy [Jayden Danns] is quite a good finisher, the first goal was exceptional, but the goals are no different to the youth level. The second goal is just his nose, we saw that in the final, he was just a little bit unlucky.”

He was a little unfortunate to suffer a concussion after colliding with Nottingham Forest ‘keeper Matz Sels, missing out on the first leg of our clash with Sparta Prague.

A swift return to the squad for the return visit at Anfield, however, certainly indicates how much our 56-year-old tactician respects Danns’ potential.

Sadly, it will be another manager that gets to enjoy developing another exciting attacking prospect to come out of Liverpool’s Academy.

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Liverpool fans won’t be surprised to hear any more injury issues coming our way this season and we’ve been hit with yet another concern ahead of our Europa League game.

As reported by Ian Doyle for the Liverpool ECHO: ‘One player unlikely to make the game on Thursday is Jayden Danns, who was absent from the session after suffering from concussion.’

Jayden Danns made an explosive impact on our match with Nottingham Forest, nearly winning a penalty, colliding with the ‘keeper and some tidy link-up play but at a cost.

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It was clear that the natural enthusiasm from the teenager is what led him to being so involved in the action but this is what also caused an injury that will likely mean missing a game the forward could have been involved in.

Such is our extreme number of issues at present, Jurgen Klopp will be looking to see who can be part of our front line in the Czech Republic.

With Mo Salah returning from injury and Darwin Nunez only fit enough to be a late sub at the City Ground, we won’t want to tire out Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz before the big game with Manchester City either.

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It’s a headache as strong as the 18-year-old must have experienced in the clash against Matz Sels, one our manager will solve.

Let’s hope the solution is big wins in both fixtures, in an important week.

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Before we begin an unnecessary witchhunt against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, it’s important to bear in mind a few other facts about the officiating that took place.

As James Pearce rightly noted on the contentious decision itself: “So much happened after [Caoimhin] Kelleher restarted the game and before the goal.”

Those suggesting that Paul Tierney – for goodness sake, actually repeat the referee’s name out loud five times  – was tilted towards the Reds might need to give their head a good old wobble.

We’re talking about the same official Klopp has expressed concern about for quite some time now. The very sight of the 43-year-old’s name on our fixtures sets hairs on end.

The decisions that didn’t go Liverpool’s way

The failure to penalise a high boot on Ibrahima Konate, for one, is pretty poor on its own. Remember the failure to penalise Danilo after dragging down Jayden Danns in the Forest box?

If anything, Nottingham Forest got off lightly with the officiating at the City Ground.

You can catch the image and clip below, courtesy of James Pearce’s X account and LFCTV:

So much happened after Kelleher restarted the game and before the goal.
Forest should be more angry with Hudson-Odoi/Awoniyi for trying to dribble the ball out of their own box just before Mac Allister’s cross.
Plus Tierney missed high boot on Konate when defender went down. pic.twitter.com/1V3kTAORSt

— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) March 2, 2024

Top left of the screen as the ball swings in. Didn't show a closer angle but if you pause you can see Danilo with both his hands wrapped around Danns. pic.twitter.com/wzTIqAfN79

— Owen (@LFCOwen96) March 2, 2024

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Those looking to judge the extent to which Jayden Danns has impressed commentators in recent weeks need look no further than Lewis Steele’s latest tweet.

The Daily Mail journalist popped onto X to share his thoughts on Cody Gakpo and his lack of ‘poacher’s instincts’. Something the young attacker and Darwin Nunez aren’t struggling with.

Luis Diaz fizzes one across the six-yard box but no one is there. Cody Gakpo doesn't have the poacher's instincts of Darwin Nunez or, dare I say it, Jayden Danns

— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) March 2, 2024

It’s quite the praise for the teenage sensation who set tongues wagging with his double goalscoring cameo against Southampton in the FA Cup.

The No.76 is available on the bench at the City Ground, should Jurgen Klopp desire a change of pace up top.

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In defence of Gakpo…

To be completely fair to our Dutch forward, you know what you’re getting from him on the pitch – and it probably isn’t ever going to be as many goals as the likes of a Nunez or Mo Salah.

That said, he’s hardly been a dud up top, registering 16 goal contributions (11 goals and five assists) in 38 games (across all competitions).

On a per-minute basis, we’re looking at a goal or assist every 129.75 minutes.

The good news is that Liverpool tend to be more lethal after the half-time break. So perhaps we shouldn’t be calling for a substitution just yet…

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Gary Lineker has singled out one Liverpool youngster for praise after an unforgettable week for the player in question.

Within a week of making his senior Reds debut, Jayden Danns played a part in our Carabao Cup final success at Wembley and then scored twice in front of the Kop in the 3-0 FA Cup win over Southampton on Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old understandably described it as a ‘dream come true’ afterwards, and that interview – along with the teenager’s performance – struck a chord with the Match of the Day presenter.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said: “I saw Jayden Danns’ little post-match interview this morning on social media where he’s like ‘oh the best day of my life’… 

“I mean, to score two goals – and I thought he did really well when he came on in the Carabao Cup Final as well, didn’t he, against Chelsea. I mean, brilliant.

“Klopp trusts them. You know, some people say ‘well, you know, he’s not going to take too many chances with his players because they’ve got so many injuries’, but still, to beat a side that has been going really well in the Championship by three goals to nil with basically a youth team, it’s pretty impressive.”

We can only imagine the buzz that Danns must’ve been feeling all week, from making his Liverpool debut to winning a cup final at Wembley to scoring his first two career goals in a matter of days.

He’s gone above and beyond in stepping up for his team in their hour of need amid a glut of injuries to senior players, putting himself in the frame for further first-team action even when the seasoned pros return.

The 18-year-old has an excellent platform on which to build, if he’s given more game-time by Jurgen Klopp over the coming weeks.

You can view Lineker’s comments on Danns below (from 17:40), via The Rest is Football on YouTube:

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Micah Richards was left suitably impressed by Jayden Danns’ drive and determination against Southampton.

The former Manchester City star described the youngster’s opening goal in the FA Cup fifth round as ‘brilliant’ as the Reds secured a 3-0 victory.

“When you’re a young player, there’s always a moment in your career when you feel like you can relax and it comes at different stages for different players,” the former defender spoke on the Rest Is Football podcast.

“They could have easily taken their foot off the gas and thought, ‘I’ve won the League Cup now, I can go get some minutes, go on loan and everyone knows my name’. But to perform like that at Anfield and score in front of the Kop with a delicious dink as well.

“The keeper has come out if you take that little second and lift it [the ball], the way he explained that in his interview, it was brilliant. I know his Dad [Neil Danns], and to see his son doing so well, is just amazing.”

The Merseysiders are set to next take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground this weekend.

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Keep an eye on Jayden Danns

It’s yet another player to add to the growing list of ‘ones to watch’ over the coming years.

What a spine Liverpool are developing already, from the likes of Marcelo Pitaluga, to Jarell Quansah, to Bobby Clark and Trey Nyoni, to Danns up top.

It’s worth bearing in mind that we can’t risk heaping too much pressure on any of these young lads’ shoulders.

That’s unlikely to happen, of course, even after Jurgen Klopp calls time on his Anfield career this summer.

Here at Liverpool, Danns’ development couldn’t be better assured.

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Liverpool fans barely knew the name of Jayden Danns a few weeks ago and now he’s shot onto the scene in a week from dreams.

After making his mark on the first team, images circulated of the Scouser as a ballboy at Anfield and now videos have been shared too.

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The celebrations from the then 16-year-old are great to see and just show how passionate he is about the club.

Let’s hope we see plenty more of the scenes we witnessed against Southampton from the striker and that he can build his own legacy on the pitch.

You can watch the video of Danns via @premierleague on X:

Watch this video from @LFC's win against Wolves on 22 May 2022, and you might recognise the ball boy…

That's right, it's their latest teenage star Jayden Danns! pic.twitter.com/U4w99Ld1V5

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 1, 2024

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Jayden Danns has had eight days that can only have felt like a dream for him and when you see how far the forward has come in such a short time, it’s even more remarkable.

Not only has the 18-year-old made his debut, won the Carabao Cup and scored his first goals for the club in just over a week but only 32 Anfield Premier League games ago – things were even more different.

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On the final game of the 2021/22 season against Wolves, Mo Salah scored to put the Reds ahead in the game and our new scoring hero can be seen on the side of the pitch as the ballboy.

It just goes to show how quickly things can change, with the then 16-year-old only dreaming then of what he’s achieved already for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

You can view the image of Danns via OneFootball:

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It was a special night for ‘Klopp’s Kids’ at Anfield and in Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas, we had two unlikely but fitting goal scorers.

Speaking after the match with LFCTV, our two-goal hero said: “I’ve come up through the whole academy with Lewis, so I was so buzzing for him to score.

“When I scored as well, the headlines were always going to be about two youngsters. We grew up together, it’s unbelievable to see him score and an even better feeling to score myself. My head is in the clouds. I couldn’t be happier.”

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It makes it even more special that this was the first time in our history that two players aged 18 or under have scored in the same senior game.

For them to be be homegrown locals too, it almost feels like Jurgen Klopp can do no wrong at the moment and long may we reap the rewards of our brilliant academy.

You can watch the comments from Danns on Koumas via LFCTV Go:

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