Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his assistant Pep Lijnders alerted him to Conor Bradley’s talent after his side’s 4-1 win over Chelsea. Bradley, 20, was in fine form during the Reds’ Premier League win last Wednesday (January 31). He scored his first goal for the club and provided two assists to Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold. In his post-match press conference, Klopp was asked if he knew how good the Northern Irishman was 13 caps before Liverpool’s last game.
he answered“Yes, I have known for a while because I have Pep Linders in my left ear and [elite development coach] Vitor Matos in my right ear. Sitting in my office, Pep said, “Then I’d like to put my hand on fire!” I remember him saying: I loved him from the beginning. He doesn’t need to be convinced.
Klopp praised the player, who scored seven goals and provided six assists in 53 appearances on loan from Bolton Wanderers last season. He noted:“Conor has performed really well in pre-season and has also had really good results at Bolton. He comes back and looks great in the preseason, and then, wow, he’s out for four or five months. It seems like a problem that only happens to the young, but I’m thankful that time will tell. “It might not be great for people our age, but I think it would be good for people their age.
Liverpool Academy graduate Klopp concluded:“It’s been fun watching him since he came back. Like I said, Conor, Jarrell [Quansah], James [McConnell], Bobby [Clark] and not to mention others…they’re all top notch, so it’s all a credit to the Academy. Kaide Gordon is back after a long injury layoff. Stefan Bajcetic is not there yet.”Conor Bradley refereed Liverpool’s first goalIn the post-match chat, Conor Bradley was asked to share his thoughts on scoring his first goal for the Merseyside outfit
He responded to TNT Sports.”Obviously this is a very proud moment. This is something I’ve dreamed of for a long time. It’s like I’m in a dream. I can not believe. I am very happy! I couldn’t believe he was inside. I just thought, ‘I’m going to hit it here’ and it went into the bottom corner. Not knowing what to do, I went to the corner and did a knee slide. “Was awesome!”So far this season, Bradley has made nine appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side, scoring one goal and providing five assists.
So far he has played in six leagues, including two in the Premier League. Bradley is expected to be on the bench for Liverpool’s league game against Arsenal on Sunday (February 4) as Trent Alexander-Arnold returns from a knee injury.
