This is what if feels like not having Rhian Brewster as a Liverpool player any more. Hurts, doesn’t it? Many of us had high hopes that the young striker would one day be the successor to Roberto Firmino’s throne and lead the line for the Reds in the future. That may still be the case, with Liverpool rather shrewdly adding a buy-back clause in Brewster’s deal with Sheffield United.
It was a transfer that made sense for everyone concerned, even if it left sections of supporters feeling down over his exit. At £23.5m with sell-on and buy-back clauses for a player that never featured in the Premier League for Liverpool, it can only be seen as yet more good business from the club.
Liverpool are establishing themselves as the ultimate destination for the world’s best players, as opposed to the stepping stone which became the norm before Jürgen Klopp’s arrival. While it may be the case that playing at Anfield is the dream for some players, the club recognise that for others it may never happen. In the case of Brewster, Klopp admitted that it would have been selfish of him to keep the youngster on the club’s books to only be used for a small number of games.
“If I am selfish that never helps really to be honest. I need a player in the right place and at the right moment so that means he is ready to fight," Klopp said.
“Everybody needs to know, all the young boys need to know, that we don’t keep them here at all costs – just so we have a solution for one or two games a year – that is not how we work.”
Liverpool will always be a club that cares about the well-being of its players, and if someone expresses a desire to leave then that request will be considered and possibly granted. With Brewster, at 20 years old he wanted to be playing regular first-team football. That just wasn’t going to happen at Anfield this season, or maybe for a couple of years.
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It has become part of a trend that the Reds have followed, especially in this transfer window. At the majority of clubs, they will always sign a player with the main aim of featuring for the first-team at some point in their career. In the case of Liverpool, this is mostly the case, but they also want players to have a good career, even if that’s not with them.
The example set by Brewster leaving, after signing from Chelsea as a 15-year-old, is that you come to Liverpool and you will get a big chance. It may not be at Anfield, but if not, you will get a move to a top club who will give you that chance. Ki-Jana Hoever is another who was signed from a proud club in Ajax, but was granted his wish of leaving with the aim of regular football.
As a result, Liverpool are starting to get a reputation for helping develop youngsters into top players, and setting them on the right path for their career. It is a very strong model in a business sense, too. Brewster and Hoever were signed for minimal fees, but have been sold for a combined total close to £40million. Staggering business, when you look at it like that.
It is a model which is what big clubs tend to employ, and one that Liverpool are worthy of following. Every club likes to bring youngsters through to the first-team, but the closer you are to the summit then it becomes less likely that prodigies get their chance. Case and point, Brewster and Hoever.
Liverpool are operating like a big club on and off the pitch, and are earning a reputation that encourages young players to come to Anfield, even if it does not mean they will make it for the first-team. That is the pulling power of a club with the might of Liverpool.
