Liverpool ACCIDENTALLY sending elite wonderkid to Manchester United | OneFootball

Liverpool are inadvertently sending an elite wonderkid to Manchester United as things stand. It wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Liverpool made a decision in the summer to send James McConnell out on loan to Ajax. The midfielder went there to work under Johnny Heitinga, who had just left the Reds where he'd worked as an assistant to Arne Slot.

The idea was to send McConnell to a coach who knew him very well and who the club trusted. However, it did not go to plan.

The initial signs were bad simply from it being the same plan they'd tried the year before with Stefan Bajcetic going to work at Red Bull Salzburg under Pep Lijnders. That ended in disaster as Lijnders was sacked within six months and the midfielder didn't play all that often.

Well, that exact situation has happened again. Heitinga is out of Ajax and McConnell hasn't really featured, prompting suggestions that he'll be sent back to Liverpool in January.

But the loan deal has also had another unintended consequence. One Manchester United could benefit from.

Jorthy Mokio to Man United?

Caught Offside are reporting that Ajax wonderkid Jorthy Mokio could join United. They're now favourites to land the teenager after Chelsea and Liverpool backed away.

Mokio is an incredibly bright talent but one who's path was blocked this season by the arrival of McConnell. In fact, it was reportedly a surprise to the scouts at Ajax that Heitinga wanted the Liverpool player when they had such a bright talent in that position.

Dutch football expert Milan Keskin says the decision to loan McConnell has helped unsettle Mokio, who is now more likely to push for a move away.

"Mokio is currently one of Ajax’s biggest prospects," says Keskin. "He has so far refused to extend his contract because he has doubts about the club’s direction.