Jürgen Klopp’s legacy was already secured when he announced that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. But the chance to go out on the major high of a potential quadruple is not one that will be passed up lightly.
The Carabao Cup final victory that Liverpool achieved over the weekend against Chelsea was the first of a possible four trophies that Klopp could lift alongside Virgil van Dijk this season. Liverpool is currently top of the Premier League and among the favorites for both the FA Cup and the Europa League.
But, as was discussed on this week’s Liverpool.com podcast, while silverware is clearly a big part of what Klopp will leave behind, so too is a squad ready to take the next step. When the German departs, he will leave behind a team that is only going to get better.
Recent additions like Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are all yet to reach their peak years while at Wembley, Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns and James McConnell were sublime. Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley already feel as if they are very much a part of the squad furniture.
All five of those players — plus Stefan Bajčetić, Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon and others who were not involved in Sunday’s final — must feel like they have a good chance of establishing themselves at Anfield. If they are trusted in a game like this, there has to be a decent chance of it happening again.
For the remainder of this season, with the exception, perhaps, of Wednesday night’s FA Cup tie against Southampton, Danns and McConnell might not play that much for Liverpool. With players like Szoboszlai and Darwin Núñez nearing returns to action, the depth that Klopp will have available again should soon increase.
But even with that being the case, talented midfielder Clark is surely in with a great chance of getting more minutes. He would have played more towards the back end of 2023 — definitely in the Europa League and maybe in the domestic cups too — had he not been injured. And even when players come back, he is definitely an option for the bench as a minimum.
Clark came on after 72 minutes at Wembley, meaning he had more than 20 minutes in normal time and then the full extra-time period of half an hour. It was his blocked shot that led to the corner from which Van Dijk scored and the 19-year-old midfielder did not look out of place at all against Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and Conor Gallagher.
His style — a blend of technique and intelligence on and off the ball — is reminiscent of someone like Adam Lallana, where Clark takes the ball on the half turn and drives forward. His confidence was shown by the step-overs he threw in against the Chelsea defense and he was demanding the ball at every opportunity, even from the few more senior stars who remained on the field.
Whoever takes over from Klopp in the summer should view Clark as someone who can be a key squad member next season and beyond, and that is only likely to become more evident over the next few months. He could be about to play a big role in the final Klopp period, with so many injuries and so many matches to come.
In January, Liverpool fielded a substantial amount of loan interest in Clark. But the decision to keep him at Anfield could not have looked more like a perfect one than in London this weekend. Across the next few months, in all competitions that remain, Clark should get plenty more chances to continue to prove it was the right move to stay put.