Liverpool to sign defender after successful trial

The 19-year-old left back spent 10 days with the Reds’ U23 side, and has impressed sufficiently to be offered a contract at Anfield.

Juanma will sign subject to a medical, and will go into Michael Beale’s U23 squad for the new season. He is not considered a first-team option at this stage, though Liverpool have seen off competition from Villarreal to secure his signature.

Real name Juan Manuel Garcia, Juanma came through the ranks at Barcelona, playing as a left back and a centre back during his time at La Masia.

A teammate of fellow Reds youngsters Pedro Chirivella and Madger Gomes in Spanish underage teams, he progressed through from the cadet team to Barcelona’s Youth B team and to the A team - where he made 17 appearances in the UEFA Youth League, including six as captain.

Speaking about him after a friendly at Rhyl last month, Beale said: “Juanma is a boy who’s come in to spend the week with us with a view to maybe seeing more of him. He’s only had a couple of days training with us, speaks very little English but you can see a very good player.

“He was at Barcelona so we’ll have a look and see how we go with him. He played with Madger Gomes and Pedro Chirivella with Spain so we’re quite familiar with him.

"He’s very versatile and can play in different positions because technically he’s very good.

“I quite like him, he reminds he a little bit of someone like a Pablo Zabaleta-type player, a nice player.”

Source: Liverpool Echo

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