Academy column: Our pride in Brannagan debut
In this week's Academy column we catch up with U21s boss Michael Beale, who tells us of his pride at seeing his captain Cameron Brannagan make his first-team debut.
It was a fantastic boost for the Academy last week when we saw Cameron Brannagan and Pedro Chirivella make their first-team debuts in Bordeaux. Cameron is my U21s captain and a real leader. He has been at this club since the age of five and it was a proud moment for him and his family when he made his Liverpool debut in Europe.
I remember when I first came to this club and Cameron was an U17 player. He spent some time with me with the U16 team because physically he hadn’t developed at that time, but through hard work and determination his quality has seen him progress. The staff really believe in him and it really was an outstanding moment when he made his debut. What I would urge him to do now is kick on, try to get his first start, and move on from there, but I certainly believe in Cameron as a football player and I know how highly he is thought of by the staff.
Pedro had made a real impression on the pre-season tour with the first team and his hard work paid off for him when he got his chance in the Europa League. That was an outstanding achievement for him, and both he and Cameron did the Academy proud that night alongside Jordan Rossiter, who is now classed as more of a first-team squad player. There has been a lot of interaction at Melwood for our boys once again this season, and they know they always have to try to make the most of their opportunity to impress our manger Brendan Rodgers and his staff.
We have 18 players out on loan at the moment and we always keep in touch with the lads and give them as much support as we can. Last weekend I went to watch Sheyi Ojo play for Wolves, and what a day it was for Ryan Kent and Sergi Canos, who both got Man of the Match awards for Coventry City and Brentford respectively. Sergi got a vital assist a minute after coming off the bench as he helped the Bees to a 2-1 win over Preston North End.
He is loving it down at Brentford and he has made a good impression already. We know what Sergi is capable of and that’s why we have sent him out there because it’s a big thing for an 18-year-old to be playing Championship football. I am going to watch Ryan play this weekend at Bury and he is another really exciting player who has already made a good impression at Coventry. It’s great to watch a lot of young players taking their first step in professional football.
We return to action on Monday night when we host Leicester City at Langtree Park in St Helens (kick-off 7pm BST). Leicester always have a very good team at this level and of course their first team have made a very good start to the season. Danny Drinkwater played against us last season and so far this campaign he has been a regular in Claudio Ranieri’s first team. Young Joe Dodoo has got lots of good press recently after scoring a hat-trick on his debut and following that up with goal in the Capital One Cup against West Ham United in midweek. Steve Beaglehole is in charge of their U21s team and he has done a fantastic job there over a number of years.
Hopefully a good crowd will come out to watch us play at Langtree Park because I think there’s a real feel-good factor about the Academy at the moment. We have a lot of young players who the supporters can be proud of and this is a chance to come and see them close up. We believe here at the Academy that there are a string of players who are all capable of making that final push to the first team in the next two or three years.
We have a really good relationship with the people at St Helens. The branding and the colours help for sure because the Langtree Park stadium is full of red and we like that. We enjoy playing there, they are really good hosts for us and they cater for our every need. We really appreciate the relationship we have with them.
Click here to read more about the special ticket offer for U21s football at Langtree Park.
Don't miss the return of the Academy Show on LFCTV on Wednesday September 30 at 8.30pm BST. Presented by Peter McDowall, we are granted exclusive behind-the-scenes access at the Academy as we bring you closer to the Kirkby graduates than ever before.