Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool believed the young striker would get minutes this season, but so far that hasn’t happened.
The hope heading into the season had been that with Liverpool competing across seven competitions, little depth at striker behind Roberto Firmino, and Rhian Brewster impressing coaches with the reserves, the young striker would get regular minutes.
So far, though, despite a handful of promising pre-season performances, Brewster has been limited to the League Cup and the belief at the club is that the 19-year-old striker needs to be playing to continue his development—which could mean a January loan.
That’s the story according to The Liverpool Echo today, who are vague on specifics but claim that Jürgen Klopp is open to a temporary departure for the youngster in January after initially pushing to keep Brewster at the club for the 2019-20 season.
The local outlet also claim that the club are likely to seek a loan destination for third-string goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, whose opportunities to play in the League Cup are likely to dry up shortly regardless the result against Aston Villa in December.
In both cases, the club would seek a loan that included playing time commitments for the players involved—which is hardly unusual for Liverpool, who now regularly negotiate deals with financial penalties should their loanees end up on the bench.
While disappointing—especially in the case of Brewster given hopes he would establish himself as second choice to Firmino—if neither is going to see the pitch in the new year, loans seem like the best option and hopefully good ones can be found.
