Liverpool remain firmly in contention for the Premier League title, having returned to the top of the table on Thursday night.
The Reds were the last of the title challengers to play on matchweek 30, with Arsenal having leapfrogged Jurgen Klopp’s side to the summit on Wednesday night.
Liverpool were up against Sheffield United and, while the match wasn’t straightforward, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds got there in the end, recording a 3-1 win.
One of Liverpool’s main strengths this season has been how so many fringe players and academy stars have come to the fore and replaced the big guns almost seamlessly.
For instance, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been out since February, when he injured his knee. The absence of such a player would’ve derailed many other teams’ title challenges, but not Liverpool’s.
This is thanks to Conor Bradley, who has come into the first team this season and taken to the pitch like a proverbial duck to water.
The 20-year-old made his first Premier League appearance of the season in the 4-0 win at Bournemouth and followed that up with an outstanding goalscoring display in the 4-1 win over Chelsea.
Bradley has made 20 outings in all competitions this season, and he has been so good that Alexander-Arnold may struggle to force his way back into the starting XI when he’s back from injury.
It was Bradley’s display in the win over Chelsea that caught the eye of former Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister.
What has Gary McAllister said about Liverpool star Conor Bradley?
The 59-year-old, speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the Reds’ win over Luton, said Bradley is a player with “no fear whatsoever” who has “moved up a notch” this season.
“The interesting thing is he is coming in with no fear whatsoever,” McAllister said of Bradley. “He is marauding, he gets himself for forward, he is exciting to watch.
“The facts are he has got better and better with every game; he has moved up a notch.”
Commenting on footage from The Reds’ 4-1 win over Chelsea at Anfield, McAllster said: “This was the game that he arrived. I thought he was outstanding.
“He scored a goal; he was involved in the goals. I thought that was the game that the crowd went ‘wow, we’ve got a special player here’.”
TBR View
In recent years, Liverpool have been arguably the best club in the country when it comes to producing young stars.
The likes of Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott have all become established first-teamers under Klopp.
Bradley isn’t even the next in line – he has made it. He is an outstanding talent and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to develop for Liverpool and Northern Ireland.
Credit also to the Anfield club’s youth setup for the role they played in turning another top prospect into a genuine Premier League star. His future really does look very bright.
The post 'Exciting': Gary McAllister says Liverpool have an 'outstanding' 20-year-old who's 'getting better and better' appeared first on TBR Football.