Conor Masterson left Liverpool at the end of last season and joined QPR.
Defender Conor Masterson was let go by Liverpool at the end of last season before joining Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer.
He has been speaking to Football.London about his departure from Anfield, and what he learned from coming through the ranks as Jurgen Klopp took the club back towards the top of English football.
He described leaving Liverpool as ‘the end of a dream’ and added: “Getting released made me realise how lucky you are every day to be able to come in and play football. A few months ago I could have been with no club back at home. That’s why I treat it like every day is my last. You don’t know when it’s going to end or how long will it last for.
“Definitely (learned a lot at Liverpool) in how I conduct myself around the place. In the gym, doing extras with the coaching staff. The coaches here can hopefully see that I’m showing a good attitude and working hard every day. That comes from within but I learnt it at Liverpool.”
There was a time when Masterson was on the fringes of the Liverpool first team, on the bench for the Champions League quarter final win at Manchester City in 2018 and travelling with the squad to the final that same year.
But competition to make it at Anfield is so intense and the quality of the youngsters Jurgen Klopp has at his disposal has been made clear by their FA Cup performances this season.
Sepp van den Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever have both been brought in as young central defensive options to cover the four first teamers Klopp has there too.
Masterson’s slow start to life at QPR indicates that he just wasn’t quite ready soon enough for Liverpool but his role in a promising Republic of Ireland Under 21 setup indicates the potential he has.
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