Liverpool’s future seems to be getting brighter day by day, the team are slowly getting to grips with Jurgen Klopp’s tactics and a run of three Premier League wins in a row certainly has lifted the mood in the side before meeting with Manchester United in the second round of the Europa League.
Pedro Chirivella, who just recently broke into the first team has just signed a new contract that keeps him in Merseyside till 2020. Now we all know that anyone who has just graduated from the youth team signing a new contract is nothing new but certainly this is a step in the right direction for the Spanish youngster and Liverpool.
History
The 18-year-old was born in the city of Valencia in Spain and was a product from the famed Valencia academy before he was snapped up by Liverpool in 2013. He was directly put into the U18 side and then graduated into the U21 side where he became a regular.
He got his first break in the Europa League this season and has played a handful of games in various competitions for the Reds. He has been one of the youngsters who have impressed Klopp, especially in the FA cup ties against West Ham and Exeter City.
Strengths and weaknesses
Chirivella is just 18 at the moment but that has not stopped comparisons with him being the next deep central midfielder that Liverpool had at one time, a certain Xabi Alonso. His range of passing isn’t as great as Xabi’s but that will certainly improve with time and growth.
He is the kind of player who plays just in front of the back four and starts attacks with his passing ability. The 18-year-old certainly has impressed in his few appearances and seems set for a few more starts come the end of the season.
He can play a little up field but a deep role is where he is best, also he is a brilliant penalty taker, someone who Liverpool could probably have used in the League Cup final against Manchester City.
Defending isn’t his greatest ability but his passing more than makes up for that. His vision is great as well and will improve with time. There are a couple of issues with his game and that is his physicality which will again get better as he ages and he isn’t the fastest player in the world, that could be a problem but if he keeps tabs with Xabi, it would work out.
Pedro isn’t the finished article but no one is unless they are a Messi at the age of 18-19. The youngster does have a bright future ahead of him and hopefully he can provide Liverpool with great service for years to come.