Harvey Elliott is destined for a bright future in Liverpool after demonstrating”maturity way beyond his years” against MK Dons, according to Stephen Warnock.
Elliott produced a performance on Wednesday because a much-changed Reds side won to reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Even the 16-year-old, that joined Liverpool from Fulham in July, was among five players under the age of 21 to begin against The Dons and Warnock was impressed with the youngster’s composure on the ball.
“[He showed] a maturity way beyond his years,” said the former Liverpool defender.
“Frequently you see kids, 16 years old, and they just take too many touches because they’re anxious, they want to get the ball under control.
“He has pinging balls one touch and round the corner, smart play.
“I thought his miss last night, when he struck the crossbar early from so close, might have dented his confidence. It didn’t at all.
“This guy is filled with confidence and you could see it in his operation, how well he did. Quite unfortunate to score late on, he could be delighted with his performance.”
Prior Dutch youngster Ki-Jana Hoever sealed the win with his first goal for the team james Milner put Liverpool in front after a misunderstanding from MK Dons goalkeeper Stuart Moore.
Curtis Jones rhian Brewster and Caoimhin Kelleher also started the match and Warnock considers Jurgen Klopp’s influence was obvious to see in the academy graduates.
“They try and play at a similar way,” said Warnock.
“If you’re likely to advance into Jurgen Klopp’s staff, you need to be able to play in the positions that he gets on the pitch whether that be in front three, the midfield three or even the back four.
“You have got to know exactly what he is searching for, and that’ll be filtered down to the academy team from Jurgen Klopp. That is important.
“Last night once the players were on the pitch you could see they understood the rotations were, defensively exactly what they needed to perform.
“That is a portion of the blueprint that Jurgen Klopp is passing down to the academy.”