Hello friends,
This is a post I've been meaning to do for some time. There is a young player in our U18s who I am optimistic/excited about, and I want to share that excitement with you all.
Before I talk about the player, let me just tell you a bit about myself. I have been on RAWK/watching LFC U18s since 2005/6; that was the same year we won the FA Youth Cup vs. Man City. In a two legged final, we dominated the first leg 3-0 with a banger goal from Paul Anderson and (I think) a goal or two by Adam Hammill. In the second leg, we got smashed 2-0 by a City side that was spearheaded by a frighteningly talented forward - a Mr. Danny Sturridge.
Anyway, I've seen a lot of prospects come through the ranks. Some of them had world-class quality, and are proving that today eg. Sterling, or my favourite Suso. A lot of guys also didn't live up to the expectations that I/others had for them. Some examples are Gerardo Bruna, Astrit Ajdarevic, Krisztian Nemeth, Adam Pepper, Jack Dunn. I used to get super hyped up about the U18s and expect a couple of them to make the jump to the first team every year, but I have since learned to be more patient and realistic. Most of the kids in the U18s won't make it in top flight football, let alone Liverpool. We'd be lucky to have one regular first team player come through once every two-three years.
The reason I want to share this post with you is that I think this player has flown under the radar a bit, and I think like-minded fans will enjoy watching him. I am a huge fan of technical midfield players who can break the lines with their passing and dribbling/movement. It was for this reason that Suso was my favourite youth prospect, and its the same reason that I now love watching Clarkson. If you have a similar affinity for technical midfielders, you will enjoy watching this guy.
Who?
Leighton Clarkson. He is a 17 year old midfielder from Blackburn. He apparently made his debut last year for the U18s, but the first time I saw him was in the UEFA Youth League this season vs. Red Star. We won the game 2-1, but I was just blown away by this lad. We had players such as Curtis Jones, Adekanye, Rafa Camacho, and Hoever playing, but I was completely smitten by this player. There was one moment where the ball was launched 20 metres into the air, but Clarkson just killed the ball dead with his first touch and then released one of our forwards down a channel. He was surrounded by 3 players at the time.
What's he like?
I am loath to compare youth team players with established stars, but it's always hard to avoid making comparisons. I think Clarkson plays a little bit like Scholes/Joe Allen. He is always keen to receive the ball, is very good at finding space to receive the ball, and is extremely comfortable in possession. If you watched a compilation of his (none exist, to my knowledge), you would see that he plays as a number 6 and usually picks up the ball quite deep. Like Scholes, Clarkson is always looking to find the right angle and make a line-breaking pass. He usually dribbles a little bit so he can change the angle and find an advanced teammate.
The U18s play with a midfield 2 or 3 this season, and Clarkson is usually playing next to Jake Cain or Dixon-Bonner. In the 3, he plays as the deepest midfielder (#6, CDM). He always shows for the ball, creates a good angle to receive the pass. On the ball, he will look to invite pressure before releasing it, or more often will just look to pass forward and break the lines of the opponent. Doesn't try too many "Hollywood" passes, but sees a pass that most players would not see.
In a midfield 2, he is more dynamic. He will often join the attack and stay up the field to recycle possession. He is also very clever at counter-pressing. His interception numbers must be quite good. He needs to be good at this, because he isn't big at all. Thats why I compare him with Joe Allen, another small player who uses positioning and timing to win the ball. With the ball, all of the team's play goes through him. He is the metronome that keeps the team ticking. Very clever passing and really good technique (first touch, free kicks, long balls).
We played against Accrington Stanley yesterday in the FA Youth Cup. If somebody can dig up the game, you'd see that he showed his amazing one-touch and long passing all throughout the game. He completely bossed the game, and was by far the best player on the pitch (Duncan, Glatzel, Larouci, Dixon-Bonner were all playing too). He also has a decent set piece in his locker, as evidenced by a nice free kick vs Everton U18 some time ago.
What weaknesses?
Clarkson is quite a small player, so he has to use his positioning and body shape to keep/win the ball. He is also not that fast or strong, so he depends on his technique to get by. I haven't seen many teams try and mark him consistently, so we don't know how he performs under pressure. Unlike players like Woodburn and Jones, Clarkson has not made a rapid transition from U18 to reserve level, so we don't know he can perform versus more tactically and physically developed opposition.
What can we expect from him?
Honestly, I'm not sure. I am very excited by this player, but it's impossible to call which ones will break through and which ones won't. It's possible that he will become a great player at a lower-division level but not quite make it at the top. I've seen such a player before - Tom Cairney. I remember Cairney being quite impressive for Hull, but he couldn't keep them up. Despite that, Cairney was one of the best midfielders in the Championship. Now that he's back up with Fulham, the jury is out a bit. Clarkson could go down that route, but he could also become a top level midfielder. I am curious to see how he develops this season. Most likely will get a few appearances for the U23s, but not much more. He is quite small and needs to develop physically. Often gets subbed off as the game progresses, so maybe his stamina is also an issue?
I believe that Clarkson has been involved with England at some level, but I don't think he is well ingrained into the national set-up. We'll have to wait and see what happens to this guy, but I have seen a lot of things I really like. We are really lucky to have a lot of talented young players, but I think Clarkson has something different to many of the most talented players I have seen at U18 level. I would encourage my fellow Reds to keep their eyes peeled and try to watching him at U18 or reserve level. The next time he is likely to play is on Saturday, 26th Jan vs Man United U18. Keep a look out!
Hope you guys found this useful, and apologies for the lack of video links (whatever I can find is on paid LFCTV). Also disclaimer: this doesn't mean that I think he is better than Jones/Hoever/Camacho/Adekanye. Hoever has the most obvious talents, but I am a huge fan of calm, technical players, so I am very invested in seeing Clarkson do well. I'd love to know what views you guys have about this guy or whether you've heard anything about how the club view him.
