Conor Bradley could soon become a problem for Liverpool. The 21-year-old was one of the surprise packages of the 2023/24 campaign as he confidently and comfortably filled in for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Whereas some of the younger players departed from the club this summer, the Northern Ireland international was retained and he’s featured in all three Premier League games for the Reds this term.
Read more: Curtis Jones fit for Forest after injury blow
He’s been used as relief for the in-form Trent Alexander-Arnold. Bradley had 13 minutes off the bench against Ipswich Town, 17 minutes against Brentford and 14 minutes against Manchester United. Bradley they went away on international duty and played two successive 90-minute matches – a win over Luxembourg and a loss against Bulgaria.
The flying full-back will likely return to the bench this weekend for Liverpool’s game against Nottingham Forest. There’s a possibility he doesn’t make his first start of the season for the Reds until the Carabao Cup clash against West Ham United towards the end of the month.
Perhaps Arne Slot will look to switch things up over the coming weeks with the return of the Champions League. Bradley might be drafted into the starting XI ahead of that game against the Hammers, though it isn’t a formality.
Bradley set for bit-part role
The likelihood is that Bradley, a player good enough to start for most teams in the Premier League, will have nothing more than a bit-part role this season. There’s nothing wrong with that. It eases the pressure on him. It allows him to develop away from the glare of first-team football.
This sort of approach helped Harvey Elliott find his feet as a Liverpool player. It helped Curtis Jones mature from squad player to first-team contender at Anfield.
Over recent seasons, Liverpool have been praised for the development of youngsters. Rightly so, too. But they haven’t been perfect and pretending they have doesn’t help anybody, does it?
Conor Bradley for Northern Ireland
It was easier for Jones and Elliott to break into the first team because, simply put, the middle third for the Reds wasn’t filled with world-class players. Liverpool had good options there, but form, injuries and the standard of quality left the door ajar for players to claim minutes.
It was a similar story with Jarell Quansah. He capitalised on injuries to Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate. He’s part of the first-team squad now after the Reds decided against bringing in a senior replacement for the departed Matip. Quansah did enough to catapult himself into the first team picture.
Bradley could fall into the Kelleher trap
But what happens when you’re up against a bonafide world-class player? What if you are vying for a spot against someone with a fairly decent injury record? Where do the minutes come from if you’re battling for minutes against someone who is consistently brilliant?
That is the problem Caoimhin Kelleher encountered. Jurgen Klopp once labelled him as the best back-up goalkeeper in the world.
Speaking after Liverpool’s Carabao Cup success over Chelsea in 2022, the German tactician said: “Alisson Becker is the best goalkeeper in the world for me. There are a lot of good goalies but this goalie is absolutely insane. And Kelleher is the best No2 in the world for me as well, especially for the way we play.”
Despite being so highly-rated though, the Republic of Ireland international has found it impossible to get regular minutes for the Reds. He’s made 15 Premier League appearances for Liverpool and 66% of those starts came last season when Alisson had a spell on the sidelines. The fact is Kelleher has been limited to 15 starts in the English top flight across four seasons.
Can Bradley actually displace Trent?
The 25-year-old has been linked with a move away from Anfield for three years but the asking price seems to put off potential suitors. Liverpool value him highly but he’s not good enough to really challenge Alisson for a start.
Bradley could suffer a similar fate if Alexander-Arnold extends his stay at Anfield.
His future is still uncertain, though reports earlier in the summer implied his contract situation was viewed as a priority by the Merseyside higher-ups. If he departs, the door is wide open for Bradley to make the right-back spot his own for the next decade. If he remains, however, things get complicated. There are no guarantees he’ll succeed Virgil van Dijk as skipper but he is next in line.
There’s every chance that for Bradley to rack up minutes, he’ll need to displace the future captain and a player who is viewed by many as a generational talent at right-back. Alexander-Arnold transformed how the full-back role is viewed. Unless he does something truly incredible to usurp him, Bradley is going to be feeding off of scraps, isn’t he?
And like with Kelleher, his stock could diminish, his career could stall and he could seek moves elsewhere on a regular basis only for him to be priced out of a transfer.
It is a situation Liverpool are going to have to manage carefully. If they don’t, it could become a problem. And not just with Bradley. There’s a risk that Elliott soon falls into this category with Dominik Szoboazlai making himself an invaluable part of Slot’s starting XI this term.
If they don’t get it right with Bradley, it could well impact how the Reds are viewed by youngsters. Too many world class players stunt opportunities for youngsters. There needs to be balance.
So far, they have failed with Kelleher. They can’t afford to fail with Bradley.
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