There’s two directions that a young Liverpool striker can follow based on players who have gone before them. They can go on to be a Premier League great like Michael Owen or never truly live up to their potential like Neil Mellor.
There’s some good news for Liverpool fans as they have secured one of their brightest young prospects to a long term deal.
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Goal.com reported that young striker Paul Glatzel has signed a new long term contract, despite having an injury that will likely see him miss all of this season.
He’s very highly regarded at Anfield after he captained the Under 18 side to the FA Youth Cup last season and made an appearance for the first team during the pre-season this year.
Unfortunately that senior appearance against Tranmere saw him pick up a cruciate ligament injury that ruined his season.
The fact the club are willing to offer him the new contract despite that injury shows just how highly they rate him. It’s worth noting he broke his leg a couple of years ago so already knows what it takes to come back from a long term injury.
Interestingly he has appeared for both Germany and England at youth international level so if he does go on to become an excellent player we might see the two countries fight over him.
His record for the under 18’s is pretty incredible after scoring 21 goals in 30 games across domestic and European youth competitions.
You can be fairly confident that Klopp will give chances to young players who are good enough, so if Glatzel can recover and have a good pre season next year then don’t be surprised to see him appear in a few first team squads next season.