“Really good” 19-year-old “ready for the next step” in Liverpool career

Having finally got back to playing regular football, talented 19-year-old Kaide Gordon is “ready for the next step” in his Liverpool career.

After breaking into the first team and even starting a League Cup semi-final at Arsenal in 2022, Gordon was hit by an 18-month injury layoff due to a series of musculoskeletal issues.

His perseverance has been rewarded with a new long-term contract, signed in May, and under-21 coach Barry Lewtas believes he is ready to take “the next step” in his career.

Speaking to reporters, including the Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle, Lewtas said: “Kaide is ready for the next step and the next challenge.

“This season has been part of his reintegration to the game. He needed an opportunity to play and find rhythm in training every day.

“Slowly but surely it wasn’t just about putting individual training sessions together, we were able to go week to week where he was playing Games regularly.”

Gordon finally returned to action in September for the under-21s and it wasn’t long before Jurgen Klopp was getting him involved with the first team, ultimately starting the winger against Union SG in the Europa League.

“For somebody who has had the injuries he’s had, building confidence in his body was what was really important,” Lewtas continued.

“Obviously he wasn’t going to lose his ability he had before, that was always going to be there.

“It was a case of him having the chance to practice and play and his performances for us were really good, and his consistency improved as you may expect.”

The ex-manager, Klopp, also has also spoken highly of the forward, when he explained how Gordon’s development had been a double-edged sword.

In December, the manager said: “From the first day back in training, we all realised immediately, ‘ah, that’s what we missed, that’s what we had already’.

“So nothing happened really, still a fantastic player, still incredibly young, and he is now again around the first team.”

With Arne Slot now taking over as boss, it is a fresh chance for some players but another challenge for others as they must seek to impress a new face.

Once seen as a potential long-term replacement for Mo Salah, Gordon’s progress has been far linear, but he is finally now getting back on track.