Talented young attacker Kaide Gordon is back into first-team action of Liverpool senior squad after being out for 693 days due to injury.
The development of young players is a compassionate and subjective issue that varies from individual to individual. Some players take time to adapt to the changes in their bodies, while some go through it without facing any significant issues.
For example, Reds legend Steven Gerrard started playing for the first team when he was 19. Compared to him, another English midfielder, Jude Bellingham, has already begun in over 100 matches at the highest stages of football.
Unearthing Neville’s Prediction after Man United’s Champions League Exit
So it is never the same for everyone; early development like Jude Bellingham, Michael Owen, or Kylian Mbappe can never expected from everyone. Moreover, growth pains or adolescent musculoskeletal issues often hold back the’ late bloomers.’
In the case of Gerrard, the former Merseyside midfielder went through a tremendous growth spurt when he was 17 and 18. The club staff had to manage him carelessly, which eventually delayed him breaking into the first team.
Even one of the finest talents of this generation, Erling Haaland, went through a similar situation at Molde in Norway. The club held him back from playing football.
Kaide Gordon’s growth issues
Similarly, youngster Kaide Gordon has gone through the aforementioned issues at Liverpool. The Anfield giants bought the attacker from Derby County in 2021 for €3.4m.
Since joining, the English forward earned quite a name as he became the club’s youngest goalscorer in the FA Cup. Then, at 17, the youngster scored against Shrewsbury Town, starting the game.
Liverpool now firmly part of transfer race for in-demand player
Shortly after that match, Gordon made his PL debut in January 2022. He also started in the second leg of the Carabao Cup against Arsenal. But that was the last match he played at the senior level as he would face some issues regarding his body.
Back then, the 19-year-old stood at just 1.73 meters and had discomfort in his pelvis. And it turned out to be adolescent musculoskeletal issues, just like Gerrard once had.
But he made a comeback in September of this year as he represented the U-21 side of LFC in the Premier League 2. So far, he has made 3 appearances for the youth side and accumulated 105 minutes.
Liverpool reportedly made proposal to sign Newcastle player last summer
He looked a lot more developed physically than he was two years ago.
These performances at the U-21 level got him his much-awaited comeback to the senior ranks. Jurgen Klopp called him up for the away game against Toulouse. Although he was on the bench for that game and the next UEL game against LASK, the boss had not lost hope in him.
Kaide Gordon returns to Liverpool first-team
Speaking at the pre-match conference before the match against Union Saint-Gilloise, Klopp said,
“So we’ve been really unlucky with some of our big, big prospects. We’ve had that they were a little bit too good already for the physical status, let me say it like this. They were that good that we thought they could help us already and everything was going in the right direction.
And then the body says: ‘No, stop’. That happened to Kaide, actually, two or three times and it was a really long time out but it’s now really cool that the first day back in training we all realised: ‘Ah, that is what we have missed! That is what we had already’.
So nothing has happened already, he is still a fantastic player and still incredibly young and he is now, again, around the first team. We try to give him as much game-time as possible with the U21s and I, you know that, I am a believer in us needing a strong U21s.
They all need to be on loan at the same time everywhere, there are different ways to develop talents. And especially after long injuries, you should not immediately think that now he is fit we can send them out.
We have a really good group of young boys there and tomorrow we will see a few of them, that is clear.”
Europa League: UEFA’s Massive Blunder Leaves Liverpool Stunned
The German manager finally gave him his first senior start in 693 days against Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday. Although the team lost 2-1 against the Belgian side, the English forward was decent in his performance.
Gordon played 75 minutes, 16 passes, and got a 6.1 rating (stats via WhoScored). With this start, he can be sure that he will be getting more openings in the future.
An ardent football fan and a proud Red. I take immense pleasure in analyzing the intricacies of the game.
