This week has been a soul soothing and a happy week for the reds with League wins over Stoke and Bournemouth which has brought the league campaign back on track. With Arsenal and West Ham dropping points, and having a match in hand over Man United, Liverpool can aim for a high finish in the table. European royalty was also proven after an exhilarating comeback against Dortmund and setting up a semifinal Clash against Villarreal.
As many 6 academy graduates started for the reds against Bournemouth and all of them impressed. Sheyi Ojo has impressed one and all and has shown he can survive at the highest level. Kevin Stewart and Brad Smith impressed and will give Klopp headaches for selection in the future. But the one player who stood out and made everyone to take notice was Danny Ward, making his first ever appearance for Liverpool.
Danny Ward has been waiting for a start since ages and when the opportunity arised, he grabbed it with both hands. Mignolet was given a much-needed rest after the miracle against Dortmund and Ward was given his first start. The Welshman has said that he was not at all nervous and looked pretty confident throughout the game. Ward made some good saves and his distribution was excellent. His distribution was the aspect that made him stand out and has started the debate of him getting more chances over the present no.1 Simon Mignolet.
He was good in rushing out of his position and commanding his area which has not been seen since Pepe Reina has left the Club. He is quick to react and looks confident on set pieces too. Basically, he is everything that Mignolet is not. With relatively easy games left in the league, Danny Ward deserves more games which give a chance for Jurgen Klopp to assess the youngster.
The best solution will be to let Ward start the league games and let Mignolet play in the Europa League. His experience will be needed in the all-important semifinal clash. The 22-year-old has everything that is needed in a goalkeeper to sustain in the most competitive league and deserves a place in the Liverpool squad.
But one game should not let everyone to get carried away with the youngster. The need of the hour is to buy a world class goalkeeper and make Ward as his deputy. Though Mignolet has improved lately, he is not at the level that the reds require. As he has signed a new deal recently, Liverpool may get a good price for him. So the future plan ahead should be to sell the Belgian, buy a genuinely world class keeper and make Ward his deputy as he has a lot of time to improve and prove his worth. At the moment, Ward has done enough to replace the Belgian to start in the remaining League games.
