Young Liverpool defender Conor Bradley on why this is his biggest pre-season
Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley, who was on loan at Bolton Wanderers last season, admits that this is the biggest pre-season of his career so far.
Bradley is an Academy graduate who is a Northern Ireland international. In League One last season, he scored five and assisted five goals in 41 appearances.
The 20-year-old is an attacking right-back who can play as a wing-back. He does not shy away from bombing forward on every occasion and makes recovery runs in defence when required.
Back in the Liverpool squad for the pre-season camp in Germany, here’s what Bradley said while speaking to the club media:
“Definitely the biggest [pre-season] of my career so far. Obviously I think every pre-season is going to be the biggest for me but I’m looking forward to this one and seeing how I get on.
“It just feels different to the last time I’ve been on pre-season. I’m fighting for a spot now, I want a spot in this squad. I’m looking to work hard and fight for that spot.”
With a full season of senior football experience behind him, albeit in the third division of English football, a good pre-season this time can propel Bradley into a position where he can be a backup right-back in the squad.
If Jurgen Klopp wants to play Trent Alexander-Arnold in the hybrid role or as one of the central midfielders, he could do with an attack-minded right-back to support the Englishman with sharing of minutes.
Although we do not like to be in the Europa League, that competition may allow the likes of Bradley to get a good amount of game time in the senior team.
If the Northern Irishman does well there and in the cup competitions, he could push himself higher and higher in the squad. There might come a situation where Alexander-Arnold becomes a full-time midfield player and Bradley takes up the right-back role.
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Klopp does not back off from offering opportunities to young players. We can expect Bradley to get a few games in the pre-season. He has to treat these games as very important to him.
