- Luca Stephenson has had an amazing spell away from Liverpool
- The 22-year-old went on to captain Dundee United
- Arne Slot must do right by him next season
Liverpool have produced some wonderful footballers using their loan system over the years. The problem is that most of them have ended up wonderful for someone else. Luca Stephenson deserves to be the exception.
There is a familiar pattern to how the Reds’ loan stories tend to end. A young player goes out, develops, impresses – and then quietly disappears from the Anfield picture, either sold on or shipped out again until the club lose interest entirely.
Stefan Bajcetic went to Red Bull Salzburg and found himself caught in managerial upheaval. He is back in Merseyside, but there is no clarity over his availability and fitness.
James McConnell went to Ajax, made seven appearances and came back in February after the agreement was terminated.
Ben Doak went to Middlesbrough, shone in the Championship, and was sold. The loan conveyor belt keeps moving, but it rarely delivers passengers back to Anfield.
Stephenson should make Liverpool think differently.
Stephenson balls out at Dundee United
Let us be clear about what the 22-year-old has achieved over two loan spells at Dundee United. He has made 67 appearances. He has captained the club. He has played through pain. He has been deployed in multiple positions and excelled in all of them.
He has done this in a league that demands physicality, intensity and consistency – qualities that do not emerge from training ground sessions alone.
The midfielder’s second season has been more impressive than his first – a rare trajectory that speaks to a mindset as much as a talent.
He returned from his stint with the Tangerines with three goals and two assists in 31 league games. This year, it reads five goals and five assists in 29 matches.
Many young players plateau when the novelty of senior football wears off. Stephenson got better. He got broader. He captained a professional football club in the Scottish Premiership at 22 and wore that responsibility like it belonged to him.
The injury that has cut his loan short is cruel in its timing, but it does not diminish a single thing he has built over the past two years.
ReadLiverpool say Liverpool cannot afford to let this one slip
The honest truth is that Liverpool’s loan system has a retention problem. It is very good at developing players and very poor at bringing them home.
The Reds spend years nurturing young talent, send them out into the world to group, and then allow other clubs to swallow them whole.
Stephenson is 22, versatile, physically robust, a natural leader and has now played nearly 70 games of senior professional football for a top-tier club. For context, Yan Diomande, rated at £85million by RB Leipzig, has 43.
Outside interest is not coming, it is already there. Celtic and Rangers have been credited with an interest in acquiring the Liverpool starlet’s services. They are not doing so out of curiosity. They have watched him from close quarters for two years and drawn their conclusions.
Liverpool need to draw theirs – and quickly.
Arne Slot appears to have taken note as well. In Stephenson’s own words, the Dutchman watched an “awful” lot of him last season.
When he returned to Scotland last summer, the head coach asked him to “step up another level” – and he has done exactly that.
It is now up to Slot to stand right by him.
It is clear that Liverpool need stability at right-back, as highlighted by Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong’s fitness issues this season.
The same goes for the defensive midfield position, where Ryan Gravenberch has disappointed, and Wataru Endo has not been trusted.
As a fan, I do not expect Stephenson to come and set the world on fire, but he would certainly be a neat option to have in the squad.
We are not Chelsea; we believe in trusting our youngsters coming through the academy. We appreciate players with grit and resilience fighting for their place and earning it – Stephenson has done that.
Liverpool have a decision to make on Luca Stephenson this summer. The right one is starting them in the face.
