Liverpool’s new teenage hero Jayden Danns could benefit from a chat with 17-year-old darts sensation Luke Littler, according to boss Jurgen Klopp, after the striker scored two goals off the bench in the Reds’ win over Southampton last night.
Danns made his first-team debut just seven days ago and has since played at Wembley in a cup final and has now scored two goals at Anfield to complete a dream week. The youngster was joined on the scoresheet by debutant Lewis Koumas.
And Klopp has compared Danns, and the rest of Liverpool’s young team, to Littler, runner-up at the World Darts Championship, who captured the hearts of the nation over the New Year period by storming to the final against all odds.
“It’s a bit like the new darts sensation, it’s fine for tonight,” Klopp said.
‘Leave the boys in the corner tomorrow. Everyone who is with us, we have to have our moments, they will have more moments than we expect.
Jurgen Klopp has compared Liverpool’s Jayden Danns (L) to teenage darts sensation Luke Littler (R)
Klopp praised 18-year-old Danns after he scored twice to help Liverpool beat Southampton 3-0
His string of goals came after Lewis Koumas broke the first-half deadlock for Liverpool on his debut
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‘Special talents, it is of course not normal for an 18-year-old boy to be as calm as you want.
“The second goal, calm if you like, he saw when Conor (Bradley) shot that the goalkeeper couldn’t handle.
‘Don’t forget when the transfer window opens, don’t ask for twelve signatures!’
Trey Nyoni was the last boy to make his debut and Klopp said of the 16-year-old: ‘With Trey you can see there is absolutely no body, I don’t know what his weight is but he is very mature on the ball. . It is special and also strange to me.
‘I’ve never had that problem, playing with so many children. It’s a really interesting experience.’
Klopp also praised Danns’ attacking abilities, with the 18-year-old sensationally tapping the ball over Southampton goalkeeper Joe Lumley for his second of the evening.
The German manager stated that the centre-forward should have scored for the seniors in their Carabao Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday.
“Remarkable instincts, there’s no doubt about that,” he said of the 18-year-old.
Danns tapped the ball over Southampton goalkeeper Joe Lumley to score his second goal
Klopp praised Liverpool youngster Trey Nyoni after coming off the bench to make his debut
‘There is no youth level if you don’t have that. He showed in the final that he can arrive at the right time, he was there three times and with a longer toe he will probably already score in the final.’
Klopp put his faith in his young stars and it certainly paid off tonight as Bobby Clark, James McConnell, Bradley and Koumas all started for the Reds and helped them seal the win.
“I can’t imagine what this must feel like for the guys, it feels pretty good for me,” he added.
“It’s academy week.”