Rhian Brewster could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu with just a week to go before the start of the new Premier League season.
Following an impressive half-season loan stint with Swansea City, scoring 11 goals in 22 appearances as they narrowly missed out on promotion, the striker is full of confidence and caught the eye for Liverpool this pre-season with three goals from two outings.
However, it wasn’t enough to earn him significant game-time against Arsenal in the Community Shield last weekend, only coming on in the dying embers as penalties loomed to take a spot-kick which he ultimately missed after sending it crashing against the crossbar.
Trailing to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang strike, the 20-year-old watched on from the substitutes’ bench at Wembley as Jurgen Klopp turned to Takumi Minamino and Naby Keita when his side were in need of an equaliser, with Curtis Jones also given the nod before Brewster’s opportunity came knocking.
It will have offered a timely reminder to the England Under-21s striker the task he faces to truly force his way into the Liverpool first team.
Last summer he enjoyed an equally impressive pre-season, scoring four goals following his return from a serious injury, but found opportunities sparse once the season started.
On the bench for just one Premier League outing, away at former club Chelsea, he was left unused and still awaits his top-flight debut for the Reds.
Also unused in the UEFA Super Cup final and for a Champions League clash with Genk despite making the matchday squad, Brewster 's four senior appearances came in the League Cup and FA Cup before he made the temporary move to South Wales.
His first team opportunities might have been lacking at Anfield, but as he was scoring goals for fun in the Championship, he saw Klopp turn to fellow Reds youngsters Jones and Neco Williams, club bosses deciding against a loan move for the former, during the second half of the season as the duo both played enough games to qualify for a Premier League winner’s medal.
And while he exceeded expectations at Swansea, he’s at a crossroads in his young Liverpool career.
Having decided to delay on making a decision about the striker's future until after the Community Shield, reports yesterday suggested Klopp had decided against loaning the striker out, handing him the first half of the season at Anfield before again reassessing his situation in January.
With a number of Premier League sides monitoring Brewster’s availability, Swansea boss Steve Cooper hinted earlier this week that as things stand the 20-year-old won’t be allowed back out on loan.
"Rhian is with Liverpool now. He obviously went back at the end of the season and it’s not really for me to discuss," he said, quoted by Wales Online.
"He’s a Liverpool player and involved with them. We wish him well. He had a brilliant time here and everyone thought the world of him.
"I don’t think I’ve said too much about him on the record. I think we need some strikers – there is no doubt about that – and I’d like another centre-back as well.
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"We’re hopeful we can still do that. If Rhian was available then of course we’d be in the mix but I don’t think that’s the case at the moment."
Yet Brewster is in exactly the same position he found himself in last summer.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are still Liverpool’s undisputed front three.
The likes of Minamino and Keita will remain ahead of him in the pecking order as go-to attacking options from the bench.
And there's also Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to contend with when the trio return from injury, having been sidelined throughout pre-season.
With the latter three absent at Wembley, Brewster was Klopp’s fourth-choice in the 90th minute in a game where he’s allowed to make six substitutions.
Had Premier League clubs voted in favour of retaining five substitutions this season, as they did after the restart following the enforced suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic last year, it would have been easier to see the striker handed further opportunities.
But yesterday the top-flight again voted to return to utilising a maximum of three substitutes from seven, ensuring just how tough the task ahead is for the young striker.
Having performed so well at Swansea, Liverpool cannot afford to leave Brewster to stand still.
On paper, he could be a vital player for the Reds in 2021/22 as their front three edge towards their 30th birthdays and with Mane and Salah due to depart in January for the Africa Cup of Nations.
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But to be ready to make that step-up, Brewster needs game-time. And goals in pre-season friendlies won’t guarantee that.
Klopp’s decision in the Community Shield shows where he currently ranks in the pecking order. The same as he did prior to his move to Swansea.
But if he is indeed to stay at Anfield until January at least, he cannot afford another half-season of limited opportunities.
For Liverpool to see the best from Rhian Brewster in the years ahead, both player and manager need to ensure history does not repeat itself.
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