The finishing of Harvey Elliott, Rhian Brewster and Curtis Jones in Liverpool’s first-team training sessions is of an exceptional standard, according to assistant goalkeeping coach Jack Robinson.
All three have started to make an impression on senior football this season in varying capacities.
Brewster is out on loan at Swansea and was scoring goals before football was curtailed.
Jones scored a stunner against Everton in the FA Cup and has been so good that Jurgen Klopp will not replace Adam Lallana when the Englishman departs and instead give Jones a chance to thrive.
Elliott, at only 16-years-old, got starts for the Reds in both the EFL Cup and the FA Cup and has an exceptionally high potential ceiling – so long as he continues his development and focuses on what needs to be done to become a success.
“You sort of get an idea for how good they are, but then you put them into the environment that they’ve had with Vitor and the first team, and with the finishing sessions that Pep and Pete put on as well, they are a nightmare,” Robinson told the official website.
“They hit the ball with such pace and such precision. It’s a real test for our goalkeepers – but that’s what we want as well.
“We want them to test our goalkeepers because, ultimately, when they step out on the pitch, they’re going to come up against the best players in the world – whether that’s with the U23s or with our first team in the league or Champions League. We want them to be tested in training as well.
“For us, it’s great. They have to try to score past Alisson, who is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. We have to try to stop them scoring as well.
“It’s a good process in both ways, but it can get competitive at times as well!”
There’s a chance Elliott and Jones might get a few games towards the end of this season, if Liverpool wrap up the title early.
Klopp will still field strong teams, but there’ll be no harm in allowing the pair some minutes off the bench – especially if games are already won.