Barry Lewtas wowed by 19-year-old Liverpool striker’s efforts in training, Jurgen Klopp a big fan

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Liverpool Under-23 coach Barry Lewtas has waxed lyrical about Reds prodigy Paul Glatzel following his goalscoring display on Friday afternoon.

The 19-year-old Liverpool academy gem is back to full fitness following a serious knee injury suffered in a pre-season friendly against Tranmere in July 2019.

Glatzel is one of the Reds setup’s most highly-rated youngsters and looked ready for a promotion to the first team before his unfortunate injury.

Indeed, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp bemoaned his injury last year, going on to describe him as “a wonderful kid, a wonderful player, unbelievable.”

Following a lengthy stint on the sidelines, he made his first appearance in last week’s 1-0 win over Arsenal U23s, coming off the bench on 62 minutes.

On Friday afternoon, Liverpool U23s ran out 4-2 winners over West Ham U23s, with Luis Longstaff, Thomas Clayton, Liam Millar and Glatzel scoring for the visitors.

Glatzel, who came on as a second-half substitute, surged forward and curled a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area in the third minute of injury time.

“It was great to see Paul get a goal at the end,” Lewtas told the Liverpool media team after the game.

“He has looked really sharp in training. He holds the ball up really well for us, he brings others into play. He had one shot blocked and scored from the other.

“We are being a bit careful with Paul after his injury but that doesn’t mean we are wrapping him up in cotton wool. We are just easing him in until he’s fully ready to go.”

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It’s a huge shame that Glatzel suffered a long-term injury which set him back a whole year, but he’s now back to full fitness and being eased into proceedings.

Liverpool have a glut of attacking talent in their academy ranks to complement a world-class front line, so competition for first-team minutes will be fierce.

However, given how highly Klopp rates Glatzel, it would be great – and unsurprising – for him to give the youngster a chance to train with the first team, or perhaps minutes in the cups next year.