AS cries continue for Liverpool to spend big in a market where business is slow and fees are sky high, a player already signed up and ready to go is keeping his manager fresh in supply of smiles.
In a competition as fiercely contested as the Premier League, with opponents as formidable as Manchester City, the idea that Rhian Brewster, an emerging teenage game-changer, could be the answer to questions of depth in attacking positions will never satisfy some.
As Kenny Dalglish once said: “There’s always been a philosophy at Liverpool that every asset should be running around on the pitch, not lying in the bank.”
The Reds, on the back of a sixth European Cup, should be punching their weight from a position of strength goes the cash-flashing narrative. And the solitary signing of a 17-year-old centre half, Sepp van der Berg, so far this summer simply doesn’t fit the bill for that particular strategy.
That City have broken their transfer record by signing £62.8million Rodri from Atletico Madrid hardly helps to dampen the panic.
But away from the idea that more new players and more money spent is always the answer, there are, of course, other considerations.
And key among them is how Liverpool are perceived by young talent across the world – now and in the future.
That Brewster, the Golden Boot winner at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, is even at Liverpool and seemingly now ready to contribute to the first team aged 19 is down to just that.
There will be much romanticism about a teenage kid coming through the ranks when Brewster makes his soon-to-come and long-awaited competitive debut for The Reds.
0-3 (Brewster 41’) pic.twitter.com/ioN4rpBVx9
— The Red Debate (@TheRedDebate) July 14, 2019
Yet the reality is that Liverpool wrenched a known talent from the grasp of Chelsea and lured him away from the capital in cut-throat fashion.
That was achieved by selling a vision of a realistic path to first-team football, aided and abetted by Michael Beale, who coached Brewster in London before moving to Merseyside and later joining Steven Gerrard at Rangers.
Brewster may have a Liverpool-supporting father but he is an East London lad who was born a stone's throw from West Ham United’s training ground and was scouted aged seven by The Hammers, Arsenal, Charlton Athletic and Chelsea.
He chose Chelsea, but later revealed he was tempted to Liverpool aged 14 because of evidence of young talent stagnating while on the books of the Londoners – and the opposite being true on Merseyside.
In an interview with Melissa Reddy for Joe, he said: “I looked at a lot of clubs and their plans, but Liverpool stood out to me. I liked their approach to development and things just felt right. They were the best choice for me then and they still are now.”
Give Rhian Brewster 1 full season and it will be Mbappe who?
Brewster is getting 20 + goals this season remeber the tweet! pic.twitter.com/gzp8YEsQPx
— Joe (@Ki_JanaHoever51) July 14, 2019
Behind the scenes and away from the noise of endless transfer tales, Liverpool will remain keen to keep that perception well-polished.
Football is a game of few secrets, and with the proliferation of scouts, academies and the murky underbelly of the youth game around cash and incentives, the evidence of developing youth and moulding talent will be a huge pull the next time Liverpool go head-to-head with rivals for a young talent.
Joe Gomez, signed as an 18-year-old from Charlton Athletic for £3.5 million in 2015, has already shone the torch down the tunnel to the first team. Raheem Sterling did the same before him as a player bought young. Brewster will likely soon follow and Jurgen Klopp and co will not want a big-money buy to stand in his way at this stage.
It can be perceived as a gamble in the here and now, but can also be perceived as good sense, good management and a flag to wave for future recruitment at youth level.
Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard – all were blooded young and all went on to shine. Brewster, who has already shone at international level and has impressed in pre-season so far, looks sure to be next in line.
The fear for many will remain – a nervousness around the fact that Brewster is yet to play in a senior competitive match, a worry that the departed Daniel Sturridge notched 27 appearances last season and a rookie could be relied on to contribute similar numbers
But already – yes, with the caveats around opposition and competitiveness of games – we have seen flashes of brilliance from Brewster and goals too; talent that tempted Borussia Monchengladbach to sniff around with intent not so long ago.
Ultimately, the team behind the scenes that facilitated a team on the pitch winning a sixth European Cup must be trusted, however tempting that one-more-transfer always looks.
Brewster, had it not been for injuries, would surely have games under his belt already by now. And it’s worth remembering that Klopp had no qualms whatsoever about naming him on the bench against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.
Had there been the need, he would have used him.
We might not have seen too much of Brewster, but Klopp and his team have – and the praise has flowed for almost two years. This is not a manager that believes the youth development at the club is not on his to-do list. It's a daily part of his agenda.
In April 2017 Klopp said: “Rhian has made outstanding steps in the last few months. Because of the talent group training once a week in Melwood with Pep Lijnders, I can see them.
“I’ve known him for probably more than a year. A wonderful skilled boy, real striker, good finisher, fantastic work ethic, and all that stuff.”
Also telling is what Brewster makes of himself as a player. If you could pick someone from Liverpool’s squad likely to be among the most valued by Klopp, Roberto Firmino would most certainly be up there – a player the boss once called “a machine”.
Similarly with his second goal, Rhian Brewster made this finish look far easier than it was. But the reason I really like this goal (and his second) was the anticipation he shows in finding and maintaining a good position.
There is an art to these goals.pic.twitter.com/jUxaSXCHiv
— The Tactical Times (@Tactical_Times) July 12, 2019
Brewster is also a fan, saying a couple of years back to The Liverpool Echo: “Out of the current first-team squad, it’s got to be Roberto Firmino. I try and mimic the way he plays and try and be myself as well. Firmino is a team player and he scores goals.”
From what we’ve heard and what we’ve seen, Brewster is the same. Gerrard said of the player that his talent was in no doubt and it was just a matter of sewing that up with effort and commitment.
On the evidence so far, that message has hit home, as defenders at Tranmere and Bradford would no doubt admit.
With Klopp promising Brewster will “play 100 per cent” next season, it’s perhaps time to dial up the buzz around a player that will excite – and dial down the talk of transfer crisis.
Liverpool to win the Premier League – 11/5
