After weeks-long of rumour-mongering, Liverpool FC finally gave into Sheffield United’s relentless transfer approach for wantaway attacking talent Rhian Brewster.
The England U21 international, whose displays in the Reds shirt at the youth level have garnered comparisons to ex-Liverpool FC and England striker and the 2001 Ballon D’Or winner Michael Owen, departs Anfield in the hope of greater first-team involvement in Chris Wilder’s Sheffield outfit which secured a highly surprising eighth-place finish last season in English top-flight football.
However, with the ongoing Premier League season not being kind enough to the Blades, with Wilder’s men being stationed at the foot of the league standings with four losses out of four games, Brewster’s addition to the club is seen as a massive upgrade over the existing attacking options at the manager’s disposal.
The price-tag does raise a number of eyebrows, a fee of £24 million being shelled out by the Blades in order to coax Liverpool FC to part ways with their one-of-a-kind forward prospect who was widely tipped to be spending time on the fringes of Klopp’s senior squad at the Merseyside giants this season.
Diogo Jota’s big-money arrival this summer from Wolves at Anfield was further expected to push Brewster down Klopp’s abundant choice of striking options, with Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino still first-team options at the Liverpool FC boss’s disposal heading into a congested fixture list of the 2020-21 season that started with just a fortnight worth of break for the players after last season’s Premier League triumph.
Brewster was undoubtedly a big talent kept in high regard by Klopp, however, the youngster had been unable to capture any attention while at Liverpool FC due to the presence of the Mane-Firmino-Salah combination. A six-month-long loan spell at Swansea City during the last leg of the 2019-20 campaign for the 20-year old was highly productive, with Brewster finding the back of the net 10 times in 20 games.
His brilliant run of form in the Swansea shirt was one of the major reasons behind the Welsh outfit coming narrowly close to clinching promotion to the Premier League, only to be upstaged by the likes of Leeds United and Fulham. Swansea City boss Steve Cooper became a huge fan of Brewster’s talent over the course of his stay at the Liberty Stadium and was in the fray to make a second loan deal approach for him this summer, something which was not in Liverpool FC’s best interests this time around.
The Reds looked set to offload Brewster after a number of top-flight sides began to battle each other in order to land the English starlet’s signing. Crystal Palace looked to be the likely destination for the 20-year old, however, Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United entered pole position in recent weeks to secure Brewster’s signing on a long-term deal.
Liverpool FC did get a fair share of bonuses despite parting ways with a highly-talented prospect in Brewster. An amount worth £24 million being pocketed by the Reds is no small figure, considering that Klopp had been indulgent of late in the transfer market, after finalizing the arrivals of Thiago and Jota in successive days.
A buy-back clause running for upto three years on Brewster’s stay at the Brammall Lane stadium is also a positive step taken by Klopp and the Liverpool FC management on the recently departed striker’s unfulfilled potential that may have a breakthrough while playing for the Blades.
It is indeed a gracious step on Klopp’s behest to allow Brewster to leave Anfield and gain valuable first-team experience elsewhere, rather than the youngster spending time at the sidelines or featuring for the Reds’ U23 squad. A second loan spell for Brewster this season might have made sense too but pocketing a sizable transfer fee upon the player’s sale turned out to be too good an offer for the Jurgen Klopp to turn down.
Brewster’s former side will no doubt keep tabs on his progress in the Blades’ colours, and should the 20-year old prove himself to be a major menace in front of the goal and uplift Chris Wilder’s side’s recent fortunes in the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool will surely be poised to activate the buy-back clause to lure the player back to Anfield.
