The 20-year-old has proven himself a “prolific” figure in the youth set-up.
Following the news that long-serving Brazilian, Roberto Firmino is set to leave Liverpool this summer at the end of his contract, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will likely be in need of further firepower to help supplement club-record signing Darwin Nunez through the middle.
With Diogo Jota currently on a run of 31 games without a goal, that need for an extra centre-forward presence has perhaps become far more urgent, with the Anfield outfit unable to rely on 179-goal machine Mohamed Salah to repeatedly deliver the goods on his own.
Whether the Merseysiders will go into the market for another forward this summer remains to be seen, however, particularly amid their apparent interest in England sensation, Jude Bellingham – who could cost as much as €150m (£131m).
With that in mind, Klopp may be wise to consider looking to the youth ranks instead in order to find a suitable fit to help strengthen the forward line, with 20-year-old sensation, Layton Stewart one of those who is arguably deserving of a proper chance to impress.
Who is Layton Stewart?
The promising striker has been in sensational form so far this season in the academy set-up, with the former England U18 international having scored 11 goals and provided one assist in just 13 Premier League 2 games, scoring in each of his last five outings in the competition.
That standout form – which also saw the youngster net once in the EFL Trophy run earlier in the campaign – is all the more impressive considering the setbacks that Stewart has had to endure in recent times, having overcome a lengthy stint on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury back in March 2021.
Now fit and firing again, the Liverpool native was memorably given a taste of life in the first-team after starting in the Carabao Cup win over Derby County back in November, albeit while having since been unable to build on that senior bow over the last few months.
Another opportunity in Klopp’s side should hopefully not be too far away for the “prolific” marksman – as hailed by journalist Glenn Price – with Stewart having been a player of interest at the club for a number of years now.
The exciting talent notably came to wider attention after earning a place in the Guardian’s Next Generation list in 2019, with journalist Andy Hunter describing him as a ‘prolific goalscorer with an explosive burst of place and good positional awareness.’
That ruthlessness in front of goal has been evidenced by the fact that the £760-per-week ace boasts a haul of 16 goals in just 30 games at U21 level, after previously bagging 27 goals in just 25 games for the U18s.
As the club’s official website previously noted, the young striker remarkably bagged 56 goals in a single season while in the U16s, with the hope being that he can follow in the footsteps of the likes of Robbie Fowler in making that transition from the youth team into the senior ranks.
Back in 2020, Stewart stated his admiration for Fowler – and fellow forward Michael Owen – having even rҽvealed that he had been receiving words of advice from the beloved Anfield icon: “Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen. I always watch them two on YouTube because they’re quite like me.
“They’re always in the goalframe, they’re always sniffing around defenders and trying to get in the box and score tap-ins.
“I’ve spoken to Fowler two times and he just talks about getting in the goalframe and that the simple goals are as good as the big goals. I’ve spoken to Michael Owen a few times and he’s just given me some advice about what I should do to try to get in the first team. “
While Owen somewhat burned his bridges with the club after joining rivals Manchester United in 2009, it is Fowler who is still adored by the Liverpool faithful, having been affectionately named ‘God’ due to his goalscoring heroics.
Having burst onto the scene as a teenager back in 1993, the Toxteth-born ace would go on to rack up a mammoth haul of 183 goals in 369 games across two spells at the club, having been hailed as a “magnificent and natural goalscorer” by ex-teammate, Ian Rush.
It would appear that young Stewart has the same ruthlessness and clinical nature in front of goal to be able to potentially emulate the now-retired hero in the years to come, with it set to be a real coup if Klopp could unearth Liverpool’s Fowler 2.0.
