Jerome: I love working with Robbie
Jerome Sinclair has explained just how much he feels he has improved as a striker by working alongside club ambassador Robbie Fowler at the Academy.
The 18-year-old, who will spearhead the attack for Neil Critchley's U19s as they face Benfica in the last 16 of the UEFA Youth League in Portugal this afternoon, has already had an impressive campaign.
Liverpool's youngest ever player has fired 21 goals for the Reds' youth teams so far this season, including six in the European tournament, and he has enjoyed regular sessions in Kirkby under the guidance of Fowler and Academy director Alex Inglethorpe.
"Robbie is a legend at this club so to get a few helpful tips from him and some advice is brilliant for me," Sinclair told Liverpoolfc.com.
"This is a guy who has been there and done it and played at the pinnacle of the game. It's fantastic for me to get the chance to work with him and it can only improve my game.
"He has given me a few little tips on my first touch, and worked with me on different types of finishing. He is always there to help me in any way he can."
The young Reds have not played in Europe since December 9, when they reached the last 16 of the UEFA Youth League courtesy of a dramatic final group game with FC Basel.
Needing to win by two clear goals to qualify, Sinclair was among the scorers as Liverpool triumphed 3-0 and secured progress to the knockout stages by netting a pair of goals in stoppage time.
The next task facing Critchley's charges is a tough one as Benfica, runners-up in the competition last season, have home advantage in the 3pm GMT kick-off.
The tie has to be decided on the day in Portugal and if the scores are level after normal time, the encounter will go straight to penalties to find a winner with no extra-time.
Sinclair said: "It has been a really good experience for us to play in this competition, coming up against different opposition and different cultures.
"We've done well so far and we want to keep going and see how far we can go in it. We know it will be a really tough game against Benfica but we will go there with confidence and hopefully we can come through it."
The talented forward is the joint-second leading goalscorer in the UEFA Youth League with six strikes so far, just one behind Chelsea's Dominic Solanke and Real Madrid's Borja Mayoral.
While he has been happy to have racked up such a tally to date, Sinclair insists his main objective is helping the team rather than looking for personal glory.
"I want to score goals," he added. "I'm a striker and if I'm scoring goals I'm happy, but the team is the most important thing.
"We've had quite a bit of a wait since our win over Basel but everyone is really excited and we can't wait for this game. We know we can beat any opposition on our day. We have beaten Real Madrid this season so we know what we can do."