'Liked him a lot': Arne Slot says Liverpool youngster has just played his way out of loan move after PSV showing
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Liverpool felt the sting of defeat in the Champions League for the first time this season after losing against PSV Eindhoven.
The Reds headed into the game knowing they had already secured a top two finish. A point was all they needed to confirm first place.
With qualification already wrapped up, Arne Slot chose to name an incredibly young Liverpool squad for the trip back to his homeland.
There were one or two bits of experience within the Liverpool line-up on the night, but by and large it was a team full of irregular starters for Slot.
That gave the chance for a number of Reds youngsters to impress.
Jayden Danns broke an eye-catching record and Trey Nyoni smashed another after coming on as a substitute. But according to Slot himself, the one who really caught the eye was midfielder James McConnell.
Arne Slot raves about James McConnell display
McConnell was one of the breakout stars of Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Liverpool. The 20-year-old was impeccable in the Carabao Cup final and impressed over eight further first-team appearances.
Injuries have restricted McConnell’s progress under Slot, and there have been suggestions that he could be heading out on-loan in the final days of the January transfer window.
However, when the question of whether any young players would be granted loan moves this week during his post-match press conference, Slot singled McConnell out to suggest he has just played his way into first-team contention.
“At the moment we have most of our players fit, so we will have this discussion tomorrow, me and Richard [Hughes], about these players,” said the Liverpool head coach.
READ MORE: Unwanted Michael Owen record smashed by Liverpool youngster during PSV Eindhoven defeat
“But there’s definitely one of them that will not go on-loan, and I think you know which one I mean… James McConnell.”
“I wouldn’t say definitely but I liked him a lot today, so maybe the end result would be good to go somewhere and play but he’s also a player that hasn’t played much 90 minutes in the last six or seven months because he was injured for a while. He impressed me a lot today.”
McConnell ready for first-team boost
Having just made his 12th appearance for the senior Liverpool team, McConnell is still yet to put a foot wrong.
The former Sunderland prospect is an incredibly silky midfielder who looks well suited to playing in Slot’s system.
Wednesday was the first extended chance the Dutchman has had to see McConnell in action, and my word did the young man take it.
It was noticeable that Tyler Morton was relegated to the bench in McConnell’s stead, and he looks like he could have just secured his place in the Liverpool squad for the longer-term.
