OPINION
Bobby Duncan is one of the most highly-rated young players at Liverpool but the 18-year-old seems to be on the lookout for a move away from Anfield while the European transfer window is still open.
According to the Daily Mail, Duncan has been left frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities that he has had since moving to Merseyside from Manchester City in June 2018 and has started to attract attention from the continent with Fiorentina and Danish side Nordsjaelland making moves to sign the young forward on loan.
Duncan is yet to even get into the senior squad on matchday, even though he impressed for the Under-18s last season by scoring an impressive 25 goals in 33 appearances across all competitions.
It is understandable for the teenager to be annoyed by the fact he looks nowhere near to getting into the senior side, but there are elements of the Daily Mail’s report that are bound to concern some Liverpool fans who rate the youngster highly.
The report adds that Duncan has made “a clear indication of his intention to sever ties with the club” by removing all links about Liverpool from his social media profiles.
Duncan is the cousin of Anfield legend Steven Gerrard, so for him to do something like this is likely to be quite meaningful and suggest a lot about his future as he reportedly looks to move on from the Reds.
Can you blame Duncan for wanting to leave if he isn’t guaranteed first-team football? Not at all.
It’s a bit of a cliche at the moment but it really is important for young English players like Duncan to have a look at see what Jadon Sancho has done with Borussia Dortmund since quitting Manchester City.
Sancho is an England international and one of the first names on the teamsheet for the German giants, and it did not even take that long to happen after he left the Man City Under-23s to go and try his hand in Europe.
Duncan will no doubt be hoping the same can happen for him at someone like Fiorentina.
Jurgen Klopp has to take some of the blame for this happening.
Although it is hard for him to try and challenge for major honours while giving youth a chance, he should at least be naming players like Duncan and Rhian Brewster on the bench every now and then, just to keep them happy and maybe hand them some minutes on the pitch if the game is won with not long to go.
It’s unlikely that something like that will ever come back to bite the Reds manager, so if he wants to keep hold of Duncan he needs to promise him that he’ll make changes.
It’s better to be proactive rather than reactive.
