Jerzy Dudek says Liverpool have a talented 19-year-old in their ranks

Liverpool legend Jerzy Dudek has waxed lyrical about Reds talent Mateusz Musialowski, in conversation with the Liverpool Echo.

The Anfield goalkeeping cult hero also had some words of advice for the 19-year-old about needing to stay focused and “out of the media”.

Musialowski joined the Liverpool academy from Polish outfit Lodz in August 2020.

The forward enjoyed an amazing maiden season at Anfield, registering 12 goals and three assists from 25 Under-18 outings.

Last term, Musialowski split his time between the Under-18s and Under-21s, once again getting into double figures for goals scored.

This season, he has found things a bit more challenging, with just one goal from 17 outings.

Nonetheless, Dudek feels his compatriot has “great potential” and expressed his hopes of seeing him realise it.

“I have seen a few bits of him on YouTube and he is a very talented player, very skilful,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“Little Messi. Let’s hope he’s going to make it.

“He has got great potential, but he needs to stay focused and out of the media.

“This can always be distracting, but he has smart people around him and the club can help him too.”

Dudek also spoke of how Musialowski’s Polish Messi tag shows how talented he is.

“It depends on the character of the person,” said the 50-year-old.

“Some players take this as an opportunity to be bigger and they feel better with this nickname.

“I don’t think they are going to take it seriously, they are going to work for their own name in the future.

“It is always nice if someone can say you are more or like a young Messi, this is a big compliment.

“It tells you everything about his talent.”

Our view

Musialowski is an incredibly talented player who has made waves at Liverpool since joining.

Admittedly, this season hasn’t been great, but it can happen. The potential is certainly there.

Hopefully Klopp will take a look at him in pre-season and perhaps send him out on loan where he can get first-team experience.