France have reached their second World Cup final in a row, and one of their stars en route to the final of this tournament has undoubtedly been Theo Hernandez.
The left-back replaced his brother, Lucas, after the Bayern Munich defender picked up an injury in the opening group game against Australia, and since then, he hasn’t looked back.
Indeed, Hernandez looks to be a shoo-in for a place in the Team of the Tournament, and he could well be a World Cup winner by Sunday evening.
But, did you know that Hernandez could’ve been a Liverpool player?
The AC Milan defender was recommended to Liverpool as a teenager by Jonathan Woodgate during his short stint as a scout at Anfield.
Woodgate spotted Hernandez when he was a youth player for Atletico Madrid, sharing the tale of spotting the left-back on The Greatest Game Podcast back in 2020.
“I recommended a player who signed for Real Madrid. I absolutely adored him but Liverpool decided they didn’t want him. He’s done OK – he’s at AC Milan now. Theo Hernandez – bombs on for fun, and he’s a machine,” Woodgate said.
Woodgate may harbour ambitions of being a manager these days, but it seems as though he had a real knack for spotting talent as a scout.
To pick out a future World Cup finalist as a teenager takes some doing, and Liverpool must regret not making this deal happen.
However, if Hernandez had joined Liverpool, perhaps he wouldn’t have been the player he is today.
The Frenchman has become a star at AC Milan due to the fact he’s been playing regular first-team football, but if he had joined Liverpool as a teenager, there’s no saying that he would’ve gotten into the side ahead of Andy Robertson at that point.
Liverpool missed out on a real talent here, but for Hernandez, eventually ending up in Milan is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
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