The Mailbox: 2/07/22
Your weekly LFC questions answered.
Thanks to everyone who sent their questions in this week for the first edition of the LFC Journal Mailbox – some really interesting topics to get into!
Which academy graduates and other youngsters do you think have a legitimate chance of receiving consistent time in the first XI this season?
Since I started watching football, there has never been a more difficult time for youngsters to break into the first team at Liverpool than now. The bar is so high in every position, so to even make the bench, let alone the starting XI on a regular basis, is incredibly tough. That said, I have high hopes for Harvey Elliott, and would love to see him re-establish himself as a genuine first team option just as he was before his hugely unlucky ankle injury against Leeds last season. He brings so much craft and guile to that right-sided midfield role, and combines brilliantly with Trent and Salah.
I’m also really intrigued to see what Fabio Carvalho can do, and where he slots in. By all accounts, he was one of the outstanding players in the Championship last season, which is quite an achievement at such a young age. As I wrote in one of my recent newsletters, I have a feeling we might see Klopp using 4-2-3-1 on a more regular basis next season, which would open up a real opportunity for Carvalho to assert himself in his preferred No.10 role.
Besides Jones, who has been in and around the first team squad for several seasons now, those are the two youngsters I expect to get the most minutes. It’d be good to see Calvin Ramsay get some opportunities in the domestic cups as well.