With Liverpool seemingly too far off the top-four in the Barclays Premier League, it could present Jürgen Klopp with an opportunity to hand appearances out to some of the young talents who have impressed in recent weeks, after they were knocked out of the FA Cup this week.

For me, there is only one player to start with when we think about who should be given an opportunity, and that is Kevin Stewart. From being released by Tottenham Hotspur as a left-footed right-back, he has risen to prominence in recent weeks in a central midfield birth.

On Tuesday against West Ham, Stewart again put in a brilliant all-action display in which, alongside Pedro Chirivella, he looked like a seasoned pro who had been playing central midfield for a long time at the highest level. In general, he keeps things simple with his passing, he has been excellent in front of the back-four whilst also getting forward to offer further support to attacks, and his added physicality makes him look like he has all the makings of becoming an established central midfield player in the not-too-distant future. He, for me. is the player who is pushing for a place in the first team the most.

Plenty of promising youngsters fighting for a chance

Not too far behind him, however, is Brad Smith. It's still amazing that the Australian was ‘released’ by Liverpool at the end of last season, but thank goodness they kept him on their books before eventually realising the talent this player has and resigning him to a new deal. Every time the full-back has played, he has been excellent - especially when going forward. His cameo against Southampton, in which his peach of a cross set up Divock Origi’s third goal of a hat-trick, was a sign of things to come and when playing, Smith has been one of Liverpool’s biggest attacking threats. This was evident again in the capital. Smith still has a lot to learn defensively but with Alberto Moreno also struggling with the defensive parts of his own game, a first-team chance for Smith could become a reality,

Joao Carlos Teixeira is another player who has been featuring sparsely in the last few months but has been pretty impressive when given his chances.  He bagged a goal in the 3-0 replay win against Exeter City and caused many problems for the West Ham defence in the first FA Cup game at Anfield, with his quick footwork and neat interchanging with his teammates asking questions of the Hammers' back-four.

Teixeira will be hoping to prove his worth before the season's end. (Picture: Getty Images)
Teixeira will be hoping to prove his worth before the season's end. (Picture: Getty Images)

The 23-year-old is now at the make-or-break point in his career where he needs games constantly if he is to continue his development and with less than six months left on his contract, he will undoubtedly be weighing up his options. The Portuguese will be one who needs to become a more prominent figure in the first-team. otherwise his career may lie elsewhere, even though he wants to stay. Klopp himself has spoken of his desire to continue working with the player but the returning Philippe Coutinho could limit his game time. It may just be Europa League appearances for him for the meantime, although many would like to see him feature in the league.

Jordan Rossiter’s contract is also running down and therefore you would say that he could be in with a shout of a few more snior games before the end of the season to see whether he will be offered a new deal. His season has so far been plagued with injuries but you feel that because of the signs suggesting he is very highly-rated at Anfield, he will get a new contract. The forgotten man is close to returning to fitness and he will be hoping first-team opportunities will be available for him to show what he has in his locker, having impressed the supporters in his cameos thus far.

Cameron Brannagan is another player who is very highly-rated by those at the Academy and has captained Liverpool Under-21s for a while now. He is another who has managed to break into the first-team picture this season and has been impressive. Many named him the stand-out player in the initial draw with West Ham, in which he used the ball effectively and stood up to the physical battle in the middle of the park. He was unfortunate to have missed out on the replay yesterday due to illness and there is no doubt that he would have started the game alongside Stewart. He will be another player looking to progress form cup competitions into the Premier League team but again, chances will be few and far between.

Midfielder and U21s captain Brannagan seems to have a big future on Merseyside. (Picture: Getty Images)
Midfielder and U21s captain Brannagan seems to have a big future on Merseyside. (Picture: Getty Images)

Danny Ward’s recall from his very successful loan spell at Aberdeen signalled the end of Adam Bogdan’s Liverpool career after a number of errors meaning Klopp lost faith in him. Ward has gone straight onto the first-team bench but has yet to make an appearance for the Reds since his return. Simon Mignolet has been under severe pressure in recent weeks with high-profile errors being noted time-and-time again.

Liverpool fans are beginning to call for Danny Ward to be given a start and most would also be happy to see the back of Mignolet. Ward’s spell in Scotland was brilliant and Aberdeen fans were gutted that he returned to Liverpool. You feel that he is certainly one of the youngsters who should be given a few games possibly in the Europa League, to see if he has what it takes before possibly making the step up to the league if Mignolet’s struggles continue.

First-team opportunities to play for?

In Pedro Chirivella’s first start in a Liverpool shirt, he looked nice and composed in a midfield battle that players his size would usually struggle with. Errant passes were few and far between and he looked comfortable alongside Stewart before being substituted during extra time. Klopp praised the Spaniard before the game and you get the feeling that he could be a special talent in years to come. He is unlikely to get any first team league games from now until the end of the season but we have seen the potential of the young lad and much more to come seems likely.

Sheyi Ojo is in a similar position with substitute appearances being his forte since returning from Wolves after a spell on loan out there. His curler against Exeter in the replay was a beautiful goal and whilst a break into the first team is unlikely, especially with players returning from injury, it would be nice to see him given a go in the first team at some point even if it is in the Europa League.

Could Smith displace Moreno at left-back? (Picture: Getty Images)
Could Smith displace Moreno at left-back? (Picture: Getty Images)

The last two we can consider are Jon Flanagan and Tiago Ilori who both had very good games against the Hammers. Flanagan is still recovering from his lengthy injury lay-off on the sidelines but has looked good in all the games he has played so far. With his contract running down it would be surprising if he wasn’t offered a new deal whilst he will surely be putting full-backs Nathaniel Clyne and Moreno under pressure for their places soon.

Ilori was a stand-out player alongside Lucas Leiva on Tuesday and whilst Liverpool conceded two goals, Ilori was at fault for neither. He looked very solid and seems to have dramatically improved from his shaky display away at Exeter with match fitness clearly improving. With all of Liverpool’s defensive injuries he may begin to put pressure on those currently playing with Kolo Touré and Mamadou Sakho not in the greatest of form, so he will be hoping for an opportunity.

The amount of chances any of these players get will vary depending on the form of the current first-team players and also injuries. If things continue in the league and there is nothing to play for towards the back-end of the season, then it would be interesting to see Klopp experiment with some of the younger players because the best way to learn and develop is to play with the big boys. Against West Ham some of the players mentioned above have already proven they can mix it with them.   

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About the author
Andrew Jones
I am a budding journalist who is very passionate about sport especially Liverpool FC