Jayden Danns & the 17 other teenagers handed Premier League debuts for Liverpool by Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp hasn’t shied away from giving youngsters their chance to shine at Anfield and Liverpool’s current crop of youngsters is a group worth getting excited about.

Since arriving at Liverpool in 2015, Klopp has handed out 18 Premier League debuts to teenagers and it’s fair to say some have gone on to do better than others.

We’ve gone back through the years and checked in on those 18 teenagers and have found what they are up to these days.

Sheyi Ojo

The dynamic winger became the first teenager Klopp handed a Premier League debut to in March 2016. He went on to make 13 first team appearances for Liverpool before being shipped out on loan for the following seven seasons.

Ojo finally called it quits on his Liverpool career in 2022 as he signed for Cardiff City on a permanent basis. Although he reportedly fell out with Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut and is currently out on loan at Belgian Pro League club KV Kortrijk.

Cameron Brannagan

“For his age, he brings everything you need for a midfield player he wants to play football, he’s strong, he’s clear, he’s cool,” Klopp said of Brannagan back in 2015.

The holding midfielder was handed his Premier League debut as a 19-year-old and he went on to make nine first-team appearances. He didn’t quite make the grade at Anfield though and left the club in 2017 to join Oxford United, where he still plays to this day.

Pedro Chirivella

The Spanish holding midfielder was handed his solitary Premier League appearance by Jurgen Klopp as a teenager. Chirivella then spent the following two years out on loan before re-joining Klopp’s side for the 2019–20 season.

After a handful of appearances in the cup competitions, the midfielder joined Nantes on a free transfer in 2020. Now 27 years old, he is still going strong in France and is the Nantes club captain.

Sergi Canos

Canos was handed his first and only Liverpool appearance on the final day of the 2015–16 season against West Brom. The Spanish winger spent the following season on loan with Brentford, who he eventually joined on a permanent basis in 2017.

After six seasons outside the top flight, Canos finally made his return to the Premier League with Brentford – but he left for Valencia last summer.

Brentford fans will always have time for the Spanish entertainer.

Ovie Ejaria

From a young age, you could tell that Ejaria had something about him. The sort of player that can make the ball stick to his boots like glue and glide past a defender like he isn’t there.

The youngster made two Premier League appearances under Klopp, but an ankle injury at the wrong time hampered his progress at Anfield. He spent the next three seasons out on loan before penning a permanent move to Reading in 2020.

Injuries have unfortunately plagued the midfielder throughout his career and he made just eight appearances last season as Reading were relegated from the Championship.

Ejaria was released by the Royals last summer and remains unattached. It’s a shame, because when he was on form, he could be absolutely unplayable.

Ben Woodburn

The Welsh international still ranks as the youngest player Klopp has ever used in the Premier League as he was just 17 years, one month and 11 days old when he made his league debut.

To say Woodburn bust onto the scene would be an understatement. The attacking midfielder scored on his international and League Cup debuts and seemingly had the world at his feet back in 2017.

The hype for the Welsh midfielder never quite materialised at Anfield though. Following a series of unspectacular loan spells in the EFL and Scotland, Liverpool released Woodburn in the summer of 2022.

He’s now playing for Preston North End in the Championship and is often used as an impact sub by manager Ryan Lowe. He still scores a worldie every now and again to be fair.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

It’s fair to say that he’s done alright since.

Dominic Solanke

Having snapped up Solanke as a teenager from Chelsea, the expectations around the striker were huge at the time. Solanke made 21 first team appearances during his debut season with the Reds, with the majority of those coming from the bench.

While he showed glimpses of promise early on, he was still incredibly raw and that’s why plenty of fans and pundits alike were surprised to see Bournemouth splashing £19million on the youngster after just one season with Liverpool.

Solanke did take some time to find his feet on the south coast, but after firing the Cherries back to the top flight he’s now an established Premier League number nine. Only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah have scored more goals this season.

QUIZ: Can you name every Liverpool player to have scored in the Premier League for Jurgen Klopp?

Rafael Camacho

The Portuguese winger got his chance to shine under Klopp in 2018–19. The youngster came on as a late substitute in Liverpool’s emphatic 4–3 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield.

That would be his only taste of Premier League action as Liverpool sold the winger to Sporting CP in a deal worth a reported £7million. Camacho spent last season on loan with Greek side Aris and has been linked with moves to Watford and Norwich City but has stayed put in Lisbon – where he hasn’t made a single appearance this season.

Curtis Jones

It’s clear to see that Klopp holds Jones in high regard and the youngster has done well since making his league debut back in December 2019.

The 22-year-old has racked up 80 Premier League appearances during his career so far. This season in particular he’s really kicked on to nail down a spot in the Reds’ new-look midfield.

Neco Williams

The Welsh international made his first appearance for Liverpool in 2019–20, but he was always going to find it tough to overtake Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.

Liverpool received a healthy chunk of change for the defender in the end as Nottingham Forest snapped him up for £17million in 2022. He’s established himself as a solid Premier League defender since and is still only 22 years old.

Rhys Williams

As Liverpool had a defensive crisis in the 2020–21 season, Williams had to be thrown in at the deep end with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip out injured.

Since then, the 23-year-old has spent a series of loans away – Swansea, Blackpool, Aberdeen and most recently Port Vale – but he was recalled by his parent club earlier this month after suffering another injury setback.

Tyler Morton

The local lad has made two Premier League appearances under Klopp and he enjoyed a successful loan spell with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship the following year. Morton featured in 46 matches for Blackburn last term, which seemed to be great for his development.

“Tyler’s a young boy with a lot of talent,” Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson told RoversTV. “He’s good at reading triggers, he knows when to press and when not to press, he sees the right passes and takes very few touches. He sees the game and is a clever player.”

“If a manager like Klopp, an excellent manager who’s one of the best in the world, trusts someone at Tyler’s age, that’s really positive.”

This season he’s a regular for playoff-chasers Hull City, where he lines up alongside fellow Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho.

Kaide Gordon

Liverpool saw the potential in Gordon early on and decided to snap up the youngster from Derby County in a deal worth up to £3million. He got his first crack at Premier League football in 2021–22 and even scored in the FA Cup.

The winger suffered a serious pelvic injury last year which kept him sidelined for around 17 months. The 19-year-old is still looking to get back to his best, but he’s still one worth keeping an eye out for.

Stefan Bajcetic

His accent is the perfect blend of Spanish and Scouse and it’s easy to see why Liverpool fans rate him so highly. Klopp handed the 18-year-old plenty of first team opportunities last season and Bajcetic more than repaid the manager’s faith.

The Spanish midfielder garnered plenty of attention after a man-of-the-match-worthy performance against Everton in the Merseyside derby last season.

“Since Stefan started playing with us, he’s been our best player,” Salah told Sky Sports following Liverpool’s Merseyside derby triumph against Everton in February.

The sky is the limit for a player like Bajcetic. Unfortunately injuries have reduced him to just two Europa League appearances this season.

Bobby Clark

One of Liverpool’s brightest prospects in their youth ranks right now, Clark looks like a star in the making. He was handed his Premier League debut last season during Liverpool’s 9-0 demolition of Bournemouth.

The 19-year-old looks like a tidy midfielder and Liverpool’s injury crisis have seen him making more cameo appearances in recent weeks.

Ben Doak

We’re very excited about this kid. We were expecting big things in 2023-24, but unfortunately injuries have seen him sidelined for most of the season.

Still, whoever follows Klopp has a gem of a player to work with.

Wolverhampton, UK. 17th Jan, 2023. Ben Doak of Liverpool during the The FA Cup match at Molineux, Wolverhampton.

READ: Liverpool have the Scottish Messi in their ranks – & Jurgen Klopp’s already in love

Jayden Danns

Liverpool’s latest teenage debutant looks like a star in the making. He came on and played a key role in the Reds’ fourth goal of their 4-1 victory against Luton.

Hatters boss Rob Edwards collared him and Klopp after the final whistle to excitedly tell them about the time he played against his father, Football League stalwart Neil Danns. A lovely moment.

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Jurgen Klopp’s 30 most-used players at Liverpool?