Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Bobby Duncan has a future in Liverpool squad. However, he also indicated that there is a contract dispute between the teenage player and the club.
Bobby Duncan and his agent, Saif Rubie raised a controversy last Wednesday when the teenager issued a statement. In his statement, Bobby accused Liverpool of “mental bullying” after rejecting loan offers from FC Nordsjaeland and Fiorentina.
Klopp did not want to be involved in Duncan’s accusations to Liverpool. The manager denied allegations that Liverpool does not protect young players such as Bobby Duncan.
“There was a statement from the club about that and that is the situation” the manager said. “It is really difficult as a non-native speaker because it is important that each word about this be right. What I can say is, Bobby is one of our young players; we really, really care about our young players. I am four years in here and I know the club is like this,” Klopp added.
Klopp also confirmed that he talked with Duncan during the start of the season. He said young players should find a way of breaking through in the Liverpool’s stature.
Klopp’s advice to young players
“A general thing is, and this has nothing to do with Bobby Duncan thing, but young players have all benefits,” Klopp said. “I’ll say this to parents too if I speak with them. You can talk about all the skilled young players who are around Liverpool, Man City, Man United – wow.
“The big problem they could have is losing patience because life is like this. You have to make it step by step. If you are Lionel Messi you can play for Barcelona at 17 but you don’t see that very often. It is possible but mostly it is all about patience,” Klopp added.
In a nutshell
Bobby Duncan has a right to leave his boyhood club. He might be destined to shine elsewhere. Liverpool’s management should consider giving a place for Bobby to discover his potential outside Anfield.
A good example to summarize all these controversies is Wayne Rooney. Rooney’s boyhood club was Everton. The moment he left the club for Manchester United, his career started to shine. This shows that young players should not be denied a chance to explore opportunities outside their boyhood clubs.