Former Red Points to Academy Products for Moreno Replacement

Stephen Warnock spoke to the official site about Alberto Moreno’s departure and what that means for a couple of academy prospects.

With Alberto Moreno having left the squad, his contract having officially expired this morning, many people wondered who the braintrust Liverpool FC might be interested in bringing in to fill that spot. It’s a tough thing to ask someone with the experience and talent of Alberto Moreno: sit behind someone with the quality of Andrew Robertson and wait for an opportunity to showcase yourself. Which is why some think that the answer for how to fill that gap might be to go with youth.

Former Red Stephen Warnock is in this camp and in speaking with the official site, he went the extra step of talking specifically about how the answer to this particular problem might lie within the Academy. In particular, Warnock believed that this moment presents an opportunity for young prospects seeking to impress. Young prospects like Adam Lewis and Yasser Larouci.

Warnock had nothing but praise for the two Baby Reds. Praise gleaned from his many hours observing the youth squads as an analyst and reporter for LFCTV. But more than that, he had words of wisdom and encouragement for the two young players to see and seize this unique moment before them.

“Can the likes of Adam and Yasser put a seed in the manager’s mind of positivity towards the way they play.”

Adam Lewis is a 19 year-old left back with experience playing for England at the U20 level. Yasser Larouci, meanwhile, is a converted winger who stepped in to fill the void left by Lewis’ promotion to Liverpool’s U23s. Both players bring with them the ability to play multiple positions and the strength of coming through an academy system that produced Trent Alexander-Arnold.

However, if one were to read Warnock’s comments a bit closely, it’d appear that he has a bit of a particular affinity towards Yasser Larouci.

“When you are looking for someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck and someone to get on the ball and make that happen, he [is] that player.”

We’re officially into July, which means we’re only a few short weeks away from the opening of training camp. We’ll keep one eye peeled to see if either Lewis or Larouci can put in a body of work that impresses Jurgen Klopp and earns them a seat behind Andrew Robertson on the depth chart. Stay tuned.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com