An unfortunate trope of the last few years in the Liverpool academy has been that of procuring a ‘New Gerrard’, who can take the Liverpudlian community values and hard-tackling nuance back to a Premier League which seems all too content with pacey wingers and technically proficient attacking midfielders.
Though footballers such as Jonjo Shelvey and Emre Can have been considered to be in the mould of the prolific Scouse legend, none have been drawn quite as parallel as the young Jordan Rossiter, who at 18 sits on the cusp of his burgeoning Liverpool career.
Since his 16th birthday, the buzz-cut bearing boy from Maghull has been likened to the folkloric captain with increasing consistency. After Gerrard’s departure to the Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the 2014-15 season, the time seemed to have arrived for Rossiter to break onto the scene in England.
However, until now, Rossiter has only made two appearances in the Europa League – both of which were starts – and a single late-game substitution versus Arsenal in the third Premier League fixture of the season.
Back in late October, Jurgen Klopp came out in a public forum and denounced the English FA’s treatment of the teenage midfielder after his participation in three matches in six days. The attitude expressed would seem to insinuate that Klopp intends to use Rossiter more frequently, whether domestically or in Europe.
With the recent exposure of Liverpool’s midfield dearth, the moment may be approaching for Gerrard’s natural successor to take the pitch in a more frequent role, and his early appearances for the first XI showed great signs of promise that he could develop into the hard-nosed box to box player the club so desperately desires.
Alongside Cameron Brannagan, his compatriot in the academy, Rossiter has been known to display passing prowess and a knack for breaking up opposing attacks through perfectly timed tackles in the defending third. Though he is still very early in his career, the excitement is palpable to witness his future growth.
Much like Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe, the latter of which has seemingly fostered a new father-and-son-esque relationship with the new Liverpool manager, Rossiter will soon have the opportunity to showcase his assortment of skills for the Reds, and the community surrounding him will no doubt be present to offer support in his pursuit of the lofty aspirations assigned to him.
