Thursday 26 September 2019 11:20, UK
Harvey Elliott is destined for a bright future at Liverpool after showing "maturity way beyond his years" against MK Dons, according to Stephen Warnock.
Elliott produced a man-of-the-match performance on Wednesday as a much-changed Reds side won 2-0 at Stadium MK, to reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The 16-year-old, who joined Liverpool from Fulham in July, was one of five players under the age of 21 to start against The Dons and Warnock was impressed with the youngster's composure on the ball.
"[He showed] a maturity way beyond his years," said the former Liverpool defender.
"Often you see youngsters, 16 years old, and they take too many touches because they're nervous, they want to get the ball under control.
"He's pinging balls in, one touch and round the corner, clever play.
"I thought his miss last night, when he hit the crossbar early on from so close, might have dented his confidence. It didn't at all.
"This guy is full of confidence and you could see it in his performance, how well he did. Very unfortunate not to score late on, he can be delighted with his performance."
James Milner put Liverpool in front on the stroke of half-time after a mistake from MK Dons goalkeeper Stuart Moore, before Dutch youngster Ki-Jana Hoever sealed the win with his first goal for the club.
Rhian Brewster, Curtis Jones and Caoimhin Kelleher also started the match and Warnock believes Jurgen Klopp's influence was obvious to see in the academy graduates.
"They all try and play in a similar way," said Warnock.
"If you are going to progress into Jurgen Klopp's team, you need to be able to play in the positions that he has on the pitch - whether that be in the front three, the midfield three or the back four.
"You've got to understand what he's looking for, and that will be filtered down to the academy staff from Jurgen Klopp. That is massively important.
"Last night when the players were on the pitch you could see they understood what the rotations were, defensively what they had to do.
"That is part of the blueprint that Jurgen Klopp is passing down to the academy."
