OPINION
Not every player can be a world beater and those in the youth system at Liverpool ought to know that.
Some represent informed gambles that just don’t pan out the way they it was hoped they would, and it gets to a point where a club has to know when to cut their losses and move on.
Take Taiwo Awoniyi, for example. The Nigerian was signed from his home country back in 2015 for a small fee with the hope that he could be a real steal for Liverpool, but four years later, he has yet to make a senior appearance in England.
Admittedly, that has seemingly been down to a work permit issue rather than anything to do with his footballing ability, but even if the 21-year-old was clear to play, it’s difficult to see how he would break his way into Jurgen Klopp’s plans.
Awoniyi has been far from prolific in years gone by, although he has hit a purple patch recently, scoring five in his last six matches for Belgian side Royal Excel Mouscron.
Liverpool must capitalise on this. The youngster is never going to be a regular for the Reds, even if they sort out his complex work permit issue, but prior to this sudden explosion of goals, they might have struggled to convince anybody to take on the gamble of a permanent deal for the Nigerian.
Now, however, he will have heads turning all over Europe, and while it might not last forever, if he can keep it up just a little while longer, Awoniyi might just earn himself a decent move elsewhere – much to his and Liverpool’s benefit.
