Liverpool have confirmed that they have offered U-23 defensive duo Conor Masterson and George Johnston new contracts.
The Reds revealed their retained list via the club’s official website on Friday afternoon and shared that the two teenage centre-backs had new deals on the table for them in order for their Anfield stay to be extended.
Masterson, 19, made 18 appearances for the Reds’ U-23 side in his latest campaign while his teammate Johnston,19, manged to feature slightly more appearing 21 times.
The club’s retained list also shared that Emre Can and Jon Flanagan will leave the club when their contracts end this summer along with Toni Gomes, Paulo Alves, Mich’el Parker, Jordan Williams, Anthony Glennon, Jordan Hunter and Harvey Whyte.
It was was also confirmed that Yan Dhanda would be leaving on a free to join Swansea City.
OPINION
This is exciting news especially in the case of Masterson. The 19-year-old centre-back may not have made his elusive first appearance for the club’s senior side as of yet, but he did come close in the 2017-18 season to doing so. Masterson was an unused substitute for the game against Everton in the Premier League in April and even amazingly made the bench for the Champions League clash against Manchester City at Anfield. While the hot prospect is no doubt keen to do more than just sit and watch his talented teammates, Jurgen Klopp is clearly keen to see him progress at the club. Johnston may not have got as close to senior football as Masterson did but his future also appears to be bright at Anfield. The Scottish centre-back regularly featured in the club’s youth system and looks to be on the right track when it comes to improving so he will eventually get an opportunity to play for the senior side. While the high-profile departure of Can was the standout exit out of the 10 players set to leave, it still a shame to see a player leave for free instead of the club getting a transfer fee for his services.
