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Highlights

Liverpool have produced some fantastic talents from their academy over the years. Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, and Jamie Carragher spring to mind, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is one recent graduate to have reached great heights.

But the pipeline doesn't look to have dried up just yet by any means. Indeed, young midfielder James McConnell has emerged this season as another exciting name to keep tabs on – especially after a bright first start against Norwich City in the FA Cup.

But he might not be a name too familiar to most fans. With that being the case, here at GIVEMESPORT, we have decided to write a profile on McConnell, providing all the information on just who the Liverpool midfielder is.

First Liverpool start

Assist vs Norwich

In his final season at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp certainly isn't short of options in the middle of the park. Because of the depth available to the German, it was a bit of a surprise to see the 19-year-old (born 13 September 2004) handed a first senior start in Jan 2024.

The Reds were at home against Norwich in the fourth round of the FA Cup and while they fielded a rotated squad, regular stars such as Alisson, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all started.

Despite this, it was McConnell who really caught the eye in the opening stages of the game. Most notably, he helped open the scoring as he picked out Curtis Jones with a sumptuous cross after 16 minutes.

The 19-year-old showed off tidy capability on the ball with a few fine passes and looked comfortable throughout. His debut came to an end in the 79th minute, as he was forced off with what appeared to be a bit of cramp.

Senior debut

Toulouse in the Europa League

Although it was his first start, it wasn't a debut for McConnell who has been in the first-team set-up all for a little while now. He was among the group of youngsters given the nod to take part in the pre-season training camp in Germany and this has led to senior opportunities.

He played in both friendly matches and during the tour to Singapore before making his first competitive appearance for Liverpool off the bench in the Europa League on 11 October 2023. Playing just one minute as a substitute, he featured in the 5-1 group stage victory against Toulouse.

He followed this up by making his Premier League bow in the 3-0 win over Brentford at Anfield, before then getting 15 minutes off the bench against Union Saint-Gilloise in December.

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Academy years

Signed from Sunderland

Despite rising through the ranks within Liverpool, McConnell was actually signed from Sunderland as an under-15s player. He was soon playing U18s football for the Reds during the 2020-21 season, despite being just 16 years of age.

This led to his first professional contract being signed in September 2021, which was followed up by a long-term extension only 13 months later.

He bagged 10 goals and six assists in 47 U18 outings – while also featuring for the U19s in the UEFA Youth League – before being promoted to the U21s squad. He has one goal and one assist in 17 outings at that level, and continues to start at that level regularly despite his occasional outings with the first team.

Style of play

Klopp praise

McConnell was asked to play the holding midfield role during the 4-0 preseason victory over Leicester City at Singapore’s National Stadium. Despite this not being where he usually operates, he drew plenty of praise from Klopp:

He has been known for being a more attack-minded midfielder at youth level but it appears he'll play in a slightly more conservative role when called upon by Klopp for the time being. His ability to operate in a range of midfield positions was noted by U21s coach Barry Lewtas, who told the press in October 2023:

“He is showing us lots of different things to his game this year, playing as a No. 6, scoring headers. It just goes to show what he can do.”

Wherever he ends up playing, the future looks to be bright for McConnell. It will certainly be interesting to see how he develops over the coming years, especially under whichever manager comes in to replace Klopp at Anfield.