Liverpool prodigy who’s wowed Griezmann may have chosen perfect time to catch Slot’s attention
Liverpool’s first team had a weekend to forget, but their under-21s enjoyed rather better fortune over the past 48 hours.
If Reds supporters were looking for a pick-me-up after the pitiful defeat to Brentford on Saturday night, Rob Page’s team provided it by thrashing their Everton counterparts 4-1 in Premier League 2 action on Sunday.
Having matched the senior side by knocking five goals past Eintracht Frankfurt a few days earlier, the youngsters claimed local bragging rights in emphatic fashion at the AXA Training Centre, with one starlet grabbing the headlines.
Figueroa nets hat-trick as Liverpool under-21s thrash Everton
Three of Liverpool’s four against the Toffees were scored by Keyrol Figueroa, with Calvin Ramsay grabbing our other goal and putting himself in the frame for a first senior Reds appearance in three years when we host Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The right-back mightn’t be the only player to grab Slot’s attention at the perfect time, with the hat-trick scorer also potentially playing himself into the 47-year-old’s thoughts.
The first-team boss demonstrated his awareness of players’ performances at underage level by including Kieran Morrison in the matchday squad against Brentford on Saturday after the Northern Irish winger excelled in the under-19s’ UEFA Youth League win over Eintracht last week.
Could Figueroa get Liverpool senior call-up this week?
Figueroa might now be hoping that his derby hat-trick for the under-21s came just in time to earn him a place on the bench for the Palace game in midweek, with the Liverpool head coach set to make a multitude of changes to his line-up.
The 19-year-old – who’s earned WhatsApp plaudits from Antoine Griezmann (The Athletic) – has never been in a senior Reds matchday squad for a competitive fixture, so a debut on Wednesday still seems rather unlikely.
However, with Jayden Danns injured and Alexander Isak also nursing a knock over the past few days, it’s plausible that the USA underage international could make the subs’ bench in the Carabao Cup tie against the Eagles.
Even if that happens but he doesn’t get on the pitch, for Figueroa to be around the first-team setup would surely give him a further confidence boost and also offer him encouragement that a pathway to the senior side is there for him if he continues to shine for Page’s under-21s.
He may have timed his derby hat-trick perfectly if Slot rewards him in the same manner that he did with Morrison at the weekend.
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