According to claims from Football Insider, Liverpool are set to listen to offers for academy starlet Herbie Kane in January, with the Reds prepared to get the youngster off their books.
The highly-rated 20-year-old was the subject of loan interest from Championship clubs Swansea City and Hull City, as well as Scottish giants Rangers.
A host of other League One and League Two outfits were also keen on the youngster but Liverpool pulled the plug on a temporary move away from Anfield in the summer. (h/t Football Insider)
Kane caught the eye on his loan spell at Doncaster Rovers in League One in the previous campaign where he was directly involved in as many as 17 goals, scoring 7 and setting up another 10 with his playmaking abilities.
The highly-rated starlet was tipped by many to make a senior breakthrough this term before Jurgen Klopp handed him his professional debut in Liverpool’s 2-0 EFL Cup victory over MK Dons, with the midfielder coming off the bench for the last eight minutes.
Kane is yet to make the matchday squads for the Premier League games but he has continued to excel for the Reds at the U-23 level in the Premier League 2 Division 1, making 3 appearances for Neil Critchley’s side.
Despite that, however, Liverpool are set to alter their stance on the future of Herbie Kane in the upcoming transfer window, with the Reds prepared to cash in on their highly-rated academy prospect.
He has caught the eye on a consistent basis at various age-group levels but Liverpool have seemingly changed their minds about him when it comes to making an impact on the first-team.
As per the report, there is a feeling at Anfield that the bar is too high for him, given the existing level of competition for places in the club’s senior ranks.
That he failed to join fellow academy graduates Curtis Jones, Ko-Jana Hoever, Rhian Brewster and Harvey Elliot in the starting XI against MK Dons has been considered as an indication of his current position in the pecking order at Anfield, with several more accomplished first-team players blocking his pathway to the senior side.
Liverpool lost out highly-rated starlet Bobby Duncan to Fiorentina in the summer and Kane is unlikely to be short of potential suitors should the reigning European champions put him up for sale in January.
To put things into perspective, Liverpool have plenty of competition for places in the midfield at the moment but cashing in on Herbie Kane wouldn’t be the wisest thing to do.
He is a player with serious potential and the European champions would be left red-faced if he goes on to fulfil his promise at some other club.
The 20-year-old has been capped by England at various age-group levels and his successful loan spell in League One last season was a clear indication of his rapid development.
Kane has already illustrated his ability to deliver the goods at the senior professional level, be it in the third-tier, but that is a really big stride for someone who is just 20.
Energy, creativity, work-rate and eye for goal- Kane has got all the attributes that Klopp value a lot and, keeping in mind the absence of a genuine goalscoring midfielder in Liverpool’s senior ranks, the Reds need to look at the 20-year-old central midfielder as a first-team element in the years to follow.
To be honest, Liverpool’s decision to turn down a loan move to the Championship wasn’t really in the best interests of Kane’s development. Success in the second-tier could have propelled him towards a bit-part first-team role at Anfield next term.
To that end, the Reds should look to arrange a temporary move to a Championship club in January to allow Kane more time to make a smoother transition from the youth ranks to the senior level. Such a stance would make a lot of sense rather than a hasty decision to offload such a talented player permanently.
Kane is not quite the finished article just yet but early signs suggest that he has the raw materials to follow the footsteps of someone Trent Alexander Arnold, who is very much a mainstay at Anfield these days.
All in all, the 20-year-old has got the potential to establish himself as the next poster boy from Liverpool’s academy. With that in mind, the Reds can ill-afford to lose him at this stage of his career after putting in all the hard work behind his development.
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