Northern Ireland U21 goalkeeper Liam Hughes has been promoted to Liverpool’s senior squad just 24 hours after making his U23 debut for the club.
Hughes, who arrived at Anfield from Celtic in January, starred in a 4-0 win over Arsenal in a Premier League 2 clash at the Liverpool Academy on Saturday.
And the 19-year-old has been rewarded with a place on Jurgen Klopp’s bench for Sunday night’s Premier League trip to Sheffield United.
The absence of regular No1 Alisson Becker and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who made his debut in December, helped fast track the youngster’s elevation.
But his inclusion as a replacement alongside the likes James Milner, Naby Keita, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is an early indication of Klopp’s faith in the player.
Brazilian star Becker is on compassionate leave after his father died aged 57 in a swimming accident on Thursday, while Kelleher is ruled out with an injury.
Adrian starts in goal for Liverpool at Sheffield United, while Hughes is joined on the bench by another young goalkeeper, Polish teenager Jakub Ojrzynski.
Ojrzynski, who joined the club from Legia Warsaw for £200,000 in 2019, has featured mainly for Liverpool U18s and U23s this season.
Hughes, who made his senior debut for Irish League club for Portadown at only 15 years of age, joined Celtic from Dungannon Swifts in 2018.
After moving to Liverpool in January deadline day, former Dungannon boss Rodney McAree backed the teenager to make the most of a “massive opportunity” with the Premier League champions.
McAree said: “It’s an unbelievable move for Liam and I know he’ll do everything to make the most of it because he’s got a great attitude.
"He always wants to work hard at his game and he is a great character.
"He has a good family behind him and it’s fantastic to see him earn a move to a club like Liverpool. It would be great to see him make progress there.”
