Liverpool star knocking on the door for promotion | OneFootball

Liverpool have an academy full of talents that are hoping to break through into the senior team.

Now that the club's pre-season campaign is under way, the opportunity to make a lasting impression on Arne Slot has arrived. The players have been working hard all summer for this limited opportunity.

The Dutchman has not shied away from using young players in his setup if he feels that they are ready to play in a more intense environment and be exposed to first-team football.

Liverpool's team that got the the Carabao Cup final last season was littered with wonderkids and they were in turn given the chance to train with the men's team and fast-track their development.

Another youngster in the ranks might have just delivered a performance Slot can't ignore.

Abe makes waves in the U18s

15-year-old Joshua Abe is only at the precipice of his career, playing regularly in the youth teams at an under-15 level for club and country. He helped the Reds to win the U15 Pape Cup in January and he made his U15 England debut recently as well. His talent is well-known around the world already.

But the right-winger is not just content playing in his age group, always striving to exceed people's expectations. This is why he has already started to feature in the U16 group as well as the U18 team.

Five days ago, he scored to open his goalscoring account for the U18s and on Saturday, he rejoined the U16 team where he scored a hat-trick in a 12-1 win. It's clear that he's outperforming his level.

© Joshua Abe - Instagram - Joshua Abe scores hat-trick for Liverpool U18s on Saturday, July 19, 2025

As such, despite him only just turning 15 years old, Liverpool feel very protective over him, looking to tie down his future as quickly as possible. Abe joined the club when he was nine and fans will be hoping that he can spend as much of his career at his boyhood team. He's a special talent.

Of course, given his age, it might be premature to suggest he could make waves in the first team.

He will need time to develop and enhance his game, but Liverpool's pre-season tour will be keeping a close eye on him when they jet off to Japan later this week. A full squad is expected to be posted in the coming days and while it is unlikely Abe will be on the plane, it's not off the cards.

Furthermore, he will no doubt get his opportunity to impress Arne Slot and make his case for a promotion in due course. Rio Ngumoha is a similar player to him, although he plays on the left-wing, but the 16-year-old has shown that he can perform to an extremely high level, and so the Englishman is going to be on the pre-season tour, having played against Preston for the Reds this time last week.

As such, we might have another one ready to come off the production line and play at a higher level.