The young Brazilian midfielder was a big hit in Finland
The only league title that Liverpool FC has seen in recent years has been when the Liverpool women’s team won the WSL in 2013 and 2014, with even that success beginning to stutter over the last 12 months.
But the club welcomed back a new title winner late this week, as new Liverpool youngster Allan Rodrigues de Souza returned from his loan spell at Finnish club Seinajoen Jalkapallokerho (SJK), whom he helped win a first league title in the club’s short history.
The 18 year old was in impressive form during his two month spell and will now no doubt be in high demand in England, with the season on these shores only just getting warmed up and Allan believes his loan spell was already very beneficial for him.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, he said: “It was a very important experience for me – it was good to get some game time as I hadn’t been playing in a while.
“Moreover, I had never played a game at professional level before, so it was very valuable time I’ve spent there.
“It’s only been seven years since SJK were founded, and they were a second-division club until recently.
“They had finished third in the league two years ago and were runners-up last season, and now this year we’ve won the league. It’s been very rewarding and I’m very happy we did it.”
His experience of winning a title is something many of his more senior counterparts have never experienced and, while it’s unlikely he’ll command a first team place anytime soon, it is experience that will stand him in good stead in the future.
And when the youngster is ready to make the step up, he will have plenty of support in the form of Lucas Leiva, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino. All of whom have helped Allan since joining the club.
He continued: “I had to fly to Liverpool on the same day people told me about the club’s interest in signing me.
“I was a little bit scared as it was out of the blue – I wasn’t expecting it – but I received a warm welcome from the Brazilians when I first got here. They took me to their houses, asked me if I needed anything and gave me all the support they could.
“They said I could rely on them for anything I needed. They were also very helpful in training and assisted me with the language – in fact, they couldn’t have done more than they did.
“They are wonderful people and I know I can count on them. I’ve been in touch with them regularly – and Lucas recently said in an interview that I’m a great prospect, which made me feel happy.
“I’ve spoken to them recently and they congratulated me for my time in Finland. It feels so nice to get this input from Lucas, Coutinho and Firmino, who are football heroes in Brazil and across the world. It’s very rewarding for me indeed.”
With such a friendly, warm atmosphere around the club everything is in place for the midfielder to progress. And now, with the arrival of the ultimate man-manager, Jurgen Klopp, Allan should find that he is in exactly the right place to realise his massive potential.
