Jurgen Klopp was a relieved man to finally give Calvin Ramsay his Liverpool debut - and it might be just in time as another injury threatens to leave them short of cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Ramsay joined Liverpool from Aberdeen in the summer and was expected to serve as Alexander-Arnold's understudy but injuries have stopped him getting going - until now. Jurgen Klopp said a month ago he'd need to spend some time with the Under-21s before his senior debut but he showed in two outings in Premier League 2 he was first-team ready, hitting the back of the net against West Ham for his second goal in just three appearances for the B-team.
And his impressive performances for the young Reds saw him fast-tracked by Klopp, who hailed him as an "outstanding talent" despite his injury-hit start, straight back into the senior set-up. He made his senior debut off the bench against Napoli on Tuesday night, replacing Alexander-Arnold late on as they went on to pick up a 2-0 win against Napoli.
Coming four months after his signing, it was labelled "long awaited" by the Liverpool Echo and it would have been the same for Klopp who now has his backup right-back fit and ready. And just as well with James Milner, who has split duties with Joe Gomez at right-back when Alexander-Arnold and Ramsay aren't available, going off with an injury early in the second half.
Klopp said on Milner: "We don't know (how he is). He seemed to be fine now but we have to probably do further checks."
Alexander-Arnold's form has come into question this season and Ramsay will now hope to challenge him and pick up more minutes before the World Cup break in two weeks' time. Speaking on him last month, Klopp said: "Calvin is not ready to play but over the moon he's ready to train now. It's really good and he's training, training, training. There will probably be a point he will play for the under-21s because we play now all of the time - that's fine.
"An outstanding talent. We scouted him in a lot of games and he did exceptionally well at a young age. A real player, he's really involved in everything. A real talent. I'm really excited about him. He had a back problem but now I've seen him two or three times training, but it's three sessions.
“Now I know much more about him as a boy - outstanding, well-educated, confident in a really good way. The start of his career has had a little interruption but it's better now than next year. We're through this and now we have to give him a good chance to have the best possible career."
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