Having brought in a lot of exciting talent this summer, Arne Slot has had a difficult decision to make.
Liverpool could only register 17 non-homegrown players in their Champions League squad.
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Now, in the Premier League U21 players do not have to be registered, which means the likes of Rio Ngumoha and Giovanni Leoni automatically in the squad, in the Champions League this is different.
Only U21 players who have spent at least two years with Liverpool can be automatically registered and be on the club’s ‘B squad.’
Ngumoha and Leoni do not qualify, which means they have had to have been registered as non-homegrown players.
This has meant that Federico Chiesa has missed out on being included in the club’s League Phase squad. Slot has decided to include Leoni and Ngumoha over the Italian.
And in turn, this gives another Liverpool wonderkid a golden chance to make his mark.
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It means that Slot has just two strikers to choose from in the no.9 position. One of them is Alexander Isak and the other is Hugo Ekitike.
With Chiesa being the third option in the domestic competitions, in Europe this will fall to Jayden Danns.
He can be included in the ‘B squad’ having spent most of his career at the club. Last season he had already featured for the club’s first team against PSV in the Champions League.
This time around Danns may get even more chances given he has inadvertently become Slot’s third no.9 option.
Liverpool do have some tough fixtures, with Galatasaray away and Atletico Madrid at home to start off with.
But later on in the competition, once hopefully Liverpool have assured their position on the table, Danns could get some minutes against the likes of PSV and Qarabag at home or Marseille away.
Given Liverpool’s intense schedule and the fact that if Egypt make the final of AFCON, Salah will only have three days to return for the Marseille game, there’s a good chance Danns will be given a chance to impress.
And that will be a golden chance for the 19-year-old. He’s highly rated in Liverpool’s academy and has already scored a few important goals in the FA Cup.
Arne Slot is a huge admirer of the forward as well. The only reason Danns wasn’t as involved with the first team squad this summer is because Liverpool have been managing him very carefully after a series of injuries last season.
But now he’s back for the U21s and scoring goals and looking in great shape. Sooner or later, he’ll get his chance in the first team again and Chiesa’s exclusion does offer him a golden chance.
If Danns can showcase his quality in Europe, there will be more opportunities for him to come. Either in the club’s first team or a secure loan move elsewhere.
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