With Andy Robertson out for three months and Kostas Tsimikas as the only veteran replacement to develop the left-back in the position, 19-year-old Luke Chambers could get game time up front.
The defender from Preston made his first-team debut for Liverpool this autumn, when he featured in the League Cup tie against Leicester City at Anfield.
– When the third goal was scored, I just sat there applauding, and I was actually blacking out since it was the 89th minute. I didn’t hear the manager at first and Curtis Jones said from my side, “You’re coming in, you’re coming in.” Then I looked up and said, “Put the suit on.” From there it was a little foggy, He tells Liverpoolfc.com.
-You have to sacrifice a lot. You miss the times when you maybe could have gone out but couldn’t, but moments like these show that it’s all worth it. Especially for my parents who took me to play football, and left work early to sacrifice for me, it was as good a moment for them as it was for me.
– It’s just the beginning, and I want more. I want more opportunities, but it’s a good start.
Not one to fly into tackles
Chambers was a goal-scoring player for Liverpool’s Under-18s, and has a background as a midfielder. Jurgen Klopp even said that he has the qualities of a centre-back.
– When I look at Luke Chambers, I think: “Wow, he has everything a centre-back needs, apart from his body,” Klopp said last winter when the Reds met Lyon in a training match in Dubai during the World Cup.
The protagonist describes himself as a full-back who likes to read the game rather than take too many chances.
-I think I’m a defensive player who stays on his feet. I don’t rush things, I think more about positioning. That’s why I intercept a fair number of passes, and I’m a striker, so I can read the game well. When you watch Virgil van Dijk defending, he is very elegant and reads the game well. I think they are the best defenders in football today, and that is what I base my game on. He says one should keep calm and stand up for oneself.
-With the variety I have now, it really helps me in the game. In this position, many doors are opened. If you are comfortable on the ball and playing for a club like Liverpool, there needs to be something all over the pitch. Even for a goalkeeper, it is necessary to be able to use the ball. It suits me well, so I just have to be brave and participate.
On loan last season
Chambers played 16 games for Kilmarnock in Scotland last spring. This was his first loan, and many expected him to be loaned out again this season.
Among other things, he was linked to Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, who are now top of the Bundesliga, but nothing came of the deal. With Robertson out indefinitely, his patience may now be rewarded.
– When I came to Kilmarnock it was a bit different, because jobs were at stake and the environment was a bit different. When I was 18 and I walked into a dressing room like that, it was eye-opening. When I came back to Liverpool, it made me mature a lot as a person and taught me things that I couldn’t really learn at Liverpool. Like other aspects of the game, and with the ability to live on his own, he says of the previous loan.
– In the short term, I hope I can play some more games on the bench, or even some games from the start. I hope I get more opportunities. In the long term, I want to stay in Liverpool’s first team as a left-back and play countless games. this is my dream.
Chambers was injured during the national team’s break, but returned at the weekend and played from the start as Liverpool’s Under-21s took on Benfica in the Premier League International Cup. The 19-year-old played the first half before being substituted, and David Lynch wrote in This Is Anfield that it could be a hint that the left-back is earmarked for a first-team role against Toulouse.
Liverpool – Toulouse will be played at 21.00, and will be shown on V Sport 1 and Viaplay.
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