Rodgers considers Ibe's potential path
Brendan Rodgers has revealed the close eye Liverpool are keeping on the development of Jordon Ibe as the young winger thrives on loan with Championship side Derby County.
The 19-year-old has notably impressed, scoring five goals in 22 appearances since joining the Rams on loan in the summer to help them consolidate third place in their division.
His parent club have been watching on with interest as Ibe has utilised his abundant natural talent - his dribbling, acceleration and brave approach - to earn plaudits at that level.
So much so that a return to Anfield before the season's end could be considered, with Rodgers keen to select the correct path for the player to maintain his progress.
"He has been great," the boss commented. "We get a report, we have scouts that go out and monitor the players at the clubs and their games, and go to the training grounds to see the players.
"So we're very clued up in terms of how well they're doing. I've seen a lot of Jordon's play in a lot of games and he has been outstanding; that's the reason why we sent him out, to get that game experience.
"You can see where he fits into our model and how we play. We need to just decide whether it is the right thing to bring him back or continue with the great development he's got at Derby at the moment.
"If we do bring him back, it would be to contribute. He's doing very well and you can see, at 19 years of age, he's going to be a great player for Liverpool in the future. [The loan] is until the end of the season but reviewed in January, so we could [bring him back] if we wanted to."