Liverpool ace has ‘totally transformed’ on loan and Klopp is a big fan

Follow us on Google Discover

Liverpool youngster Leighton Clarkson has ‘totally transformed himself’ since leaving the Premier League giants for a loan spell at Aberdeen. 

That is according to John McMaster; one of the Dons’ ‘Gothenberg Greats’ delighted to see the 21-year-old come on leaps and bounds during a loan which could lay the foundations for a bright future at his parent club.

Clarkson himself admitted that he has ‘learned a lot more than I thought I would do’ at Pittodrie. The England U20 international will return to Anfield with Aberdeen’s Young Player of the Year award under his arm, and he may have to make space on his mantelpiece for the Scottish Premiership’s Goal of the Season gong too. 

For McMaster, the biggest difference in Clarkson’s game over the last nine months or so concerns his fitness and match sharpness. A man who arrived with just 10 first-team appearances under his belt now capable of going toe-to-toe with far more senior opposition. 

Does Leighton Clarkson have a future at Liverpool?

“The wee Liverpool midfielder Leighton Clarkson, he’s totally transformed himself. He’s all over the place,” McMaster tells Aberdeen Live. 

“He used to come off in the 60th or 65th minute. Not now.

Clarkson has completed the full 90 minutes in seven of his last 10 games. The one-time Blackburn Rovers benchwarmer also has five goals and set assists to his name. Adding a real attacking streak to his composed passing and tactical intelligence. 

These vast improvements should only enhance his hopes of a role at Anfield going forward, especially with the departures of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita opening up a spot in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield. 

“Leighton is one of the biggest talents in our club,” Klopp said back in 2021; likening Clarkson to a young Philipp Lahm. “He’s a midfielder, a number six type, can play eight as well. 

“He’s a very talented, good football-playing boy. In Germany, there’s a famous player who played similar to him. I don’t want to put pressure on the boy but he reminds me a lot of him (Lahm).

“He’s just a good footballer, a smart footballer, fast, physically strong. If you see his legs, they are not like 19-year-old boy legs, they are already grown.”