Former MK Dons academy product Sheji Ojo believes a string of injuries prevented him from becoming a firm fixture for Liverpool after his move to Merseyside.
Departing MK1 at 14 for Liverpool for a fee believed to be around £2.5 million in 2011, Ojo was tipped to be the next big thing, having impressed in Dons’ academy, trialling for the U18s and training with Karl Robinson’s first-team.
Though he was much-liked by former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, first-team chances at Anfield were few and far between, making just 13 senior outings for the club in over a decade.
But a back injury, which ruled him out for several months after he began to break into the senior side, scuppered his chances of becoming a regular according to Ojo.
“I was really upset, to be honest,” he said. “It didn’t break me because I’m still here but at the time I remember feeling heartbroken because I knew really that was my opportunity to properly kick on. It was a back injury and I was out for about four months. Even to this day, I remember that exact feeling. It was a hard one to take.”
After leaving Anfield in the summer of 2022, he joined Cardiff City but was used out of position as a wing-back, where Ojo admitted he did not enjoy playing. Departing after two years in Wales, the now 27-year-old plies his trade in Slovenia for champions Maribor.
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He added: “Over the last two years, I have not enjoyed football in the way I would have wanted to. I guess that was the main motivation for coming here, because the plan and the vision they set out for me was pretty clear: they just wanted to see me play with a smile on my face and show everyone and myself how good I really am. So it felt like the perfect opportunity to do that.”
