Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has heaped praise on Reds academy star Leighton Clarkson and revealed that he is the type of defensive midfielder the club like.
The international break that kept club football out of action for two weeks, and provided Premier League club Liverpool with the perfect opportunity to bring in players from their academy to train with the first-team stars who were not called up.
One such prospect who joined the senior team at Melwood was 17-year-old defensive midfielder Clarkson, who caught Lijnders' attention with his ability to play visionary passes.
The 36-year-old feels that the Blackburn-born teenager is a midfielder who can dictate the game from the centre of the park and is a fan of his ability to see the runs made by the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
A collective desire for further improvement has been key, believes Pep Lijnders ?
Read his thoughts on how we've started the season and what has pleased him most so far ?
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 12, 2019
Lijnders is impressed with what Clarkson offers and revealed that he is the kind of number six Liverpool like.
"Leighton Clarkson, who sees with his own eyes the constant runs of Sadio and Mo in behind", Lijnders told Liverpool's official site.
"He has the capacity to play the passes these type of forwards like to receive.
"He is the type of No.6 we really like, the one who can dictate play, but dictate with direction, who can speed up the tempo of the positional play, the one who has always time on the ball."
Clarkson has made four appearances for Liverpool's Under-19s this season, captaining the side on two occasions, and the defensive midfielder has two assists to his name.
