Liverpool agree contract with young defender who has caught Vitor Matos' eye

Liverpool defender Isaac Mabaya has signed a new contract with the club.

Following in the footsteps of Jarell Quansah, it has been announced today that Mabaya has put pen to paper on fresh terms.

It is a welcome news for the teenager, who has been ruled out since October with an ankle injury. Prior to that, the 18-year-old, who can play right-back and in the centre of midfield, was a regular for the Reds' U23s and U19s teams.

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And that came on the back of making a number of appearances for Liverpool's first team during pre-season last summer.

Involved during the Asia tour and training camp in Austria, Mabaya was spoken about by Vitor Matos, the club's elite development coach, during a conversation with first-team assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

Matos said: "Isaac, his physical attributes are really, really good and he's someone that can really give life to the right side of a team."

During that same conversation, Matos also spoke about midfielder Stefan Bajcetic, who went on to become a permanent member of Jurgen Klopp's senior squad before injury curtailed his campaign.

Mabaya, who first joined the club at the age of six, has yet to feature competitively for Liverpool at first-team level. But having impressed the club's academy coaches and hierarchy enough to be rewarded with a new deal, his name is one fans should look out for in the next 12 months.

And longer term, his ultimate aim will to become the Reds' first-choice right-back, which may be more possible now with Trent Alexander-Arnold's potential move into midfield.

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