Rodgers sings Ibe’s praises ahead of Newcastle

Ahead of the arrival to Anfield of Newcastle, the Reds have welcomed back young winger Jordan Ibe who, prior to his injury, was impressing everybody with his fearless, energetic, all-action displays.

After impressing on loan at Derby earlier in the season, Ibe was recalled from loan and went straight into the first team, putting in a string of great displays before being struck with an untimely injury.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Rodgers said: “He excites people.

“For a kid of that age – he’s just turned 19 in December, remember – it was about helping him to take the steps into the first team.

“He’s a classic example of where you’ve got to map out a young player and his development, in order to put him in. Now, he looks very much a first-team player.

“He’s had a couple of loan spells, he’s had first team football, he’s come back and then obviously he picked up the injury. But he’s back now, and I see a significant difference in him, in both his confidence and the maturity in his game.

“He is going to be an outstanding player. He IS an outstanding player, but we’ve just got to manage his potential in the coming years.”

While he may not necessarily be the answer to all of Liverpool’s ills, his return to the squad will be a huge boost ahead of the match tomorrow night, with the Reds really needing an injection of something different, after a disappointing run in the past month.

It also means that the likes of Markovic, Sterling and Lallana can now be employed in areas to maximize their impact – at least until the end of the season – with Ibe able to operate very well from the right wing-back position.

It’d be a surprise to see the young attacker start against Newcastle tonight but having him on the bench even would be a very welcome return.