Why Liverpool have struck gold with a professional deal for Jack Bearne

As confirmed via Liverpool FC’s official website, academy prospect Jack Bearne has been rewarded with a maiden professional contract by the Reds as a mark of his rapid progress through the youth ranks at Anfield. 

The 18-year-old starlet started his career at his hometown club Notts County before originally signing for Liverpool in December 2016 and moved to the city in April 2017 as a part of the club’s U-18 side. 

Jack Bearne played a key role for the U-18s in Liverpool’s FA Youth Cup triumph in the previous campaign, converting a penalty in the decisive shootout in the final to seal victory for Barry Lewtas’ side. 

The talented attacker was also on target against Everton in the U-18 Premier League the last term, scoring the winner in both meetings against the Merseyside rivals. Bearne accumulated a total of 13 appearances in the U-18 Premier League last season, scoring thrice and assisting once in the process. 

Having made a solitary appearance for the U-23 side in the Premier League 2 in the previous campaign, Bearne impressed U-23 manager Neil Critchley during the pre-season and made a successful transition to a higher age group before sustaining an ankle injury.

The starlet’s rapid progress has been thwarted to an extent by his spell on the sidelines, with other youngsters getting a chance to impress, however, he is expected to be roped straight into the U-23 side once he returns to full fitness. 

Rated highly by the youth coaching staff at Anfield, Jack Bearne is regarded as a player with the potential to push on and ply his trade at the highest level in the years to come.

He is still very much in his formative years as a footballer and has only just made his mark at the U-23 level but his talent and potential have prompted the Reds to secure his long-term future with a professional contract. 

To put things into perspective, Liverpool already have several top-quality up and coming prospects emerging from their youth system and a new deal for Jack Bearne is yet another step that indicates the club’s faith in their academy talents. 

Liverpool lost highly-rated academy striker Bobby Duncan to Fiorentina in the summer but they have moved quickly to ensure that they are in a good position to shield Bearne from any sort of foreign interest.  

The Reds recently tied Jake Cain down to professional terms and with Bearne also following in his footsteps in putting pen to paper, it is imperative to say that the reigning European champions are making great strides in polishing talented youngsters at various age-group levels.

Verdict

Liverpool brought in Sepp van den Berg as a long-term defensive prospect from the Eredivisie this summer while Harvey Elliott also came through the door from Fulham to add more quality and competition to the U-23 side. 

Furthermore, they already have some other youngsters like Leighton Clarkson and Elijah Dixon-Bonner waiting in the wings to make their senior breakthrough and Jack Bearne will also be hoping to catch the eye in the coming days.

The 18-year-old has a good burst of pace, as well as the necessary skill set, to play in multiple positions across the final third and it will be interesting to see whether he manages to hold his own in the U-23 ranks playing alongside the likes of Herbie Kane, Curtis Jones, Ki-Jana Hoever and Rhian Brewster, who have all been handed their senior professional debuts by Jurgen Klopp.

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All in all, Liverpool offering the 18-year-old a professional deal could pay rich dividends in the future, as the Reds continue their hunt for the next poster boy from their academy.