Half and a half scarves are generally badly seen by football fans, but a Morpeth family could have good reasons to invest in some when Liverpool plays in Newcastle in the final of the Carabao Cup next month.
That is the family of the young midfielder of the Reds, James McConnell, Geordie's boy who could be the next taxi out of the illustrious Liverpool Academy. His very united family, including his twin brothers, are fans of Newcastle's lifetime life.
Triplet McConnell, 20, is the hot perspective once described by Jurgen Klopp as 'absolutely crazy'. Arne Slot recently appointed him, since “absolutely” will allow to leave on loan before the deadline of January last week. He had been baffled by how good it is.
Those who attend Slot's Friday on Friday every week will testify that this was a break of tradition, the Dutchman is rarely one to highlight people for praise. “It's not about him, it's the team,” comes the standard answer when asked about a player.
Whether Mohamed Salah has just broken another record, the young Conor Bradley has marked Kylian Mbappe of the game or Darwin Núñez has obtained a last minute winner, since Slot is never about the individual but the group.
With this in mind, it was a pleasant surprise to see the lengths in which the head of Liverpool went to Lyric Wax on James McConnell in Eindhoven last week. Calling it a Rave review would be euphemism.
Arne's tragamoneas praise individuals, but made an exception for James McConnell
The slot made it clear that it would not leave McConnell loan in January
The very united family of McConnell are Newcastle fans, the opponents of the Liverpool Cup Cup
Mail Sport's question was not even specifically about McConnell, but from young boys in general, including Jayden Danns, Trey Nyoni and Tyler Morton, who made a good change despite losing 3-2 before the leaders of the Dutch League Psv Psv . It was if anyone would go on loan.
Slot's response was emphatic: McConnell is here to stay. “There is definitely one that will not go on loan and I think you know who it is,” said the boss. 'Jaime. I really liked today. It is always very competitive. James only plays.
Despite being with a baby and diminutive face in physics, McConnell always step forward, regardless of the level. He played for the first team before having appeared for children under 21, for example, and stood out in his reverence of the Champions League against players with years of experience in him.
Although McConnell is a childhood Newcastle fan, he has its bitter rivals Sunderland to thank his ascent. It was seen by the Black Cats when I played for Cramlington Juniors in Northumberland, collected at less than 10 levels.
That is quite late for children in the northeast. Due to the three -way fighting for young talent between Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, players are generally invited to try much younger and, in most cases, signed by the eight years.
But McConnell finally enrolled in Grassroots and originally played as a wide player. In Liverpool he has predominantly played as a NO 10 in the Academy. Since it has entered the first team, it has been a deep No 6. Talk about versatility.
The movement to the heart of the center of the field was thanks to Klopp and his man to the right Pepijn Lijnders, who saw something in the death of McConnell, Dribling to break the lines and tenacity that suggested that he could prosper there. In addition to some frustrating injuries, he has barely looked back since then.
These injuries are the only concern to take into account in terms of profiling the player, who would have been given possibilities on the summer tour of the United States, but an ankle problem, not helped by the long -distance trip, was placed To that, leaving him playing the capture -he can impress the new slot of the boss.
McConnell will take a few minutes against Plymouth in the FA Cup this weekend
The very qualified McConnell was described once by Jurgen Klopp as “absolutely crazy”
But even when he has been injured in recent years, those of the academy have spoken it. It is believed that the director of the Alex Inglethorpe Academy has labeled McConnell the “dark horse” of his age group, one that the coaches of the first team may ask: “Where have you been hiding it?”
After returning to physical aptitude after his ankle concerns, McConnell was ready to borrow in January. Wycombe, the Flyers of the One League, were very hot with him, as well as Derby and Swansea in the championship. The loan manager, Matt Newberry, was ready to sanction the agreement.
Then came the curve ball of the slot, the name reviewed after a star presentation against the PSV Eindhoven. The meetings took place in the days after that to decide what was the best and the conclusion was that McConnell would stay.
The player was openly for a movement and was anxious to go to play regular football of the first team. McConnell asked Slot if he would be closer to the manager's plans in the summer if he obtained approximately 15 games in his belt in the championship. No, the answer came.
Instead, Slot told the 20 -year -old who didn't care if McConnell had played 50 games in the championship between now and May, trust him, not for the future but now. He is ready to get a few minutes, maybe from the beginning, against Plymouth in the FA Cup this weekend.
In next year, the realistic objective for McConnell is to challenge Wataru Endo's tastes as the natural deputy if one of the deepest midfielders was rotated or not available. Tyler Morton is likely to leave in the summer, Stefan Bajcetic's future is not clear after his loan in Las Palmas.
The rise of McConnell is another show of the Liverpool recruitment campaign to hunt the talented young people with talented in the mid -teenagers. Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Bradley were signed in 16, Prodigies Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha, who can also appear on Sunday, similar.
He was seen by Scouts when he was 14 years old and was invited by Liverpool to play in the MIC Cup, a youth tournament. It was not a test, but more a guest appearance with Harrison Jones, who remained in Sunderland and is now on the edge of his first team.
In the following year, McConnell will seek to challenge Wataru endo for a place in the squad
It is believed that Alex Inglethorpe tied McConnell the 'dark horse' of his age group
McConnell flourished in that tournament and made the decision to move to the Anfield Club, which was a significant step of his comfort zone. As a triplet, it was probably difficult to leave his brothers and his parents: his mother works at the NHS and the father in the Fire Service.
The moment was good because the McConnell school was placed on the path of some family friends, who gave a home to the young star. He still lives there with 'host parents' and is described as a young -level young man.
Given the public support of the Slot player, it would not be a surprise if a new contract was on the table in a short time despite the fact that he only signed his last agreement 13 months ago. It is said to be a great coach and a very dear presence around the building.
“What I see is he in the training field that competes with all our midfielders,” Slot said on Friday. “It always gives everything you have.”
At 20, there will be potholes on the road to McConnell and, leaving what people say about him, he knows that he has not yet “succeeded.”
But he has been supported to the hilt and has given him a golden opportunity in slot to prove his worth. It is possible that it does not appear every week as it could go on loan, but, when you look back in 10 years, it only plays a role like the cast for the Liverpool trophies offer could be more memorable.