Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster has told FourFourTwo that he would have departed this summer if first-team football was an unrealistic possibility – but says support from Jurgen Klopp made him feel wanted at Anfield.
Lyle & Scott
The 18-year-old striker was seriously linked with Arsenal, Tottenham and various Bundesliga clubs with his contract running down on Merseyside, but eventually penned a new long-term contract in mid-July.
Brewster, Golden Boot winner for England at the 2017 U17 World Cup, is aiming to make his Liverpool debut this season once he's recovered from a serious ankle injury which has sidelined him since January.
Speaking in the October 2018 issue of FourFourTwo, out now, the striker admits his short-term future was something he thought long and hard about.
“Yes I did, because I wanted to be playing first-team football and if that meant going, I’d have gone,” Brewster said. “But I felt it was right to stay at Liverpool and prove that I’m good enough to play in the first team.
“I hope to make my debut and play quite a bit this season. I’ve been injured since January; that’s been hard, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has helped me as we’ve been doing rehab together, and the manager has integrated me with the first team even though I’ve been injured.”
Klopp has paid Brewster close attention since late 2016 when he first included him in his plans for first-team friendlies, and the young striker admits that his manager’s support has meant a lot to him.
“He was texting me throughout the [U17] World Cup, then he called me after we won to say congratulations,” the teenager told FFT.
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“The first time he texted me, I thought, ‘Who’s this?’ I know one JK and that’s Jurgen - it can’t be!
“He said, ‘It’s the boss’ and told me to save his number! I thought, ‘Wow, he cares’.”
Rhian Brewster is an ambassador for Lyle & Scott, and is modelling their new autumn/winter ‘18 range
Read the full interview with Rhian Brewster in the October 2018 issue of FourFourTwo – part of our 12-page cover story on Liverpool’s quest for glory – out in shops now! Meanwhile, we go One-on-One for a fascinating career reflective with Dimitar Berbatov, remember Manchester City when they were bobbins, give England 22 tips for 2022, meet Marlon Harewood: ride pimper – and much, much more.
Joe was the Deputy Editor at FourFourTwo until 2022, having risen through the FFT academy and been on the brand since 2013 in various capacities.
By weekend and frustrating midweek night he is a Leicester City fan, and in 2020 co-wrote the autobiography of former Foxes winger Matt Piper – subsequently listed for both the Telegraph and William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards.
