With the international break providing a temporary hiatus from Premier League football, attention has turned in the past week to involvement of Liverpool players with their respective national teams.
While Gareth Southgate demonstrated a disdain for creativity by snubbing Trent Alexander-Arnold this week, the Reds did have two players on the bench for England's U21s against Italy last Thursday in the shape of Harvey Elliott and Tyler Morton. But it was a former Liverpool prospect who stole the show with both goals in a welcome 2-0 win against gli Azzurri.
Rhian Brewster delivered a brace inside the opening five minutes that sealed the victory and underlined his ability to make a difference in tight matches. The first goal was dispatched from the penalty spot, but the second was a deft clip over the keeper that displayed the hallmarks of an accomplished finisher.
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Impressive stuff from the 22-year-old, so it might come as a surprise to many that his goals against Italy were the first of any kind since January 22. Even more alarming is the fact that his goal against Luton Town eight months ago was only his fourth since leaving Anfield for Sheffield United in a £23.5million deal on October 2, 2020.
Born in London, Brewster joined the Reds in 2015 at the age of 14 from Chelsea's Academy, where he had been under the guidance of coach Michael Beale. But when Beale moved north to joined Liverpool's Academy, he recommended Brewster and with the youngster's father believing a path to the first team was more feasible away from West London a deal to bring him to Merseyside was done.
Having initially joined the U18s set-up he was soon moved up to U23 level and scored on his debut against Ipswich Town. In eight Premier League 2 games he scored three goals and provided three assists. The following season he plundered six goals and served up seven assists in 15 matches across the Premier League 2 and UEFA Youth League, as his stock continued to rise.
In January 2018, a serious ankle injury against Manchester City U23s put him out of action for the rest of the season. He would need an operation on his knee two months later as result of the same incident when he landed heavily after an aerial challenge. Even before signing a professional contract with Liverpool, he was subject to transfer speculation and a friendly with Borussia Monchengladbach was cancelled after the German side were accused of 'tapping him up'.
Brewster was handed a five-year professional deal by Jurgen Klopp in June 2018, but despite having never made a competitive first team appearance for the club, he was the recipient of a 2018/19 Champions League winners medal after the German somewhat surprisingly named him on the bench for the final against Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.
Despite not playing a minute in the competition, the young forward was clearly proud of his achievement too, taking his medal to his barbers when getting a haircut after the showpiece.
He eventually made his first team debut in a 2-0 League Cup win against MK Dons on September 25, 2019 and went on to make further appearances in a bizarre 5-5 draw with Arsenal in the next round - a match the Reds eventually won on penalties - and in a 1-0 FA Cup triumph against Everton at Anfield.
With Liverpool flying high and opportunities limited, Brewster joined Swansea City on loan in January 2020, where he was reunited with former England U17 coach Steve Cooper. Despite the season being interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Brewster ended the campaign with 11 goals in 22 appearances for the Swans.
Having returned to Merseyside in the summer, Brewster's final Liverpool appearance came as a substitute in the 2020 Community Shield at Wembley as the newly-crowned Premier League champions came up against FA Cup-holders Arsenal. With the match tied at 1-1, the game went to a penalty shoot-out. Brewster was given spot-kick responsibilities but smashed his effort against the crossbar as the Gunners lifted the silverware.
Any hopes that the striker was about to follow in the footsteps of Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler were extinguished when Chris Wilder's Sheffield United came calling in October 2020. The Reds banked £23.5m for Brewster, also negotiating a 15% sell-on clause and a guaranteed buy-back option , which remains valid until 2023.
"Rhian couldn't make it here, so far (into the first team)," Klopp said, just before Brewster signed for the Blades. "That's pretty much the information. But he has made big steps in his development.
"Rhian was seriously injured, so first and foremost we had to make sure he was ready for all the demands of professional football again and he is now 100%. He had a really good half season at Swansea and was really impressive, he came here for pre-season and scored for us - you could see that he made big steps.
"It's about development - if Rhian was now 25 or 26 we would say stay and work for your chance - it's a different situation when you are younger. A player like Rhian in this position, it's important he makes the next steps and uses the time he lost during the serious injury. It's possible a move to another club would make sense but I don't know exactly what will happen there.”
The fee Liverpool managed to achieve for their now former player quickly looked like a very good deal for Liverpool. Brewster made 30 appearances for United in the 2020-21 season but failed score in any of them. With the Sheffield club relegated at the end of the campaign, he eventually scored his first goal in red and white stripes in the League Cup against Carlisle United in August 2021. A first league goal in the Championship arrived three months later and he went on to score a further three times before disaster struck once more.
The forward had to be stretchered off against Peterborough United in January after suffering a ham-string injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Having returned to action for the start of the new campaign, Paul Heckingbottom's side are riding high at the top of the Championship but Brewster is yet to find the net in 11 appearances and Oli McBurnie's four goals from his last five matches is forcing the ex-Liverpool prospect to settle for a place on the bench.
It looks increasing unlikely that Liverpool well ever take up the option of bringing Brewster back from Bramall Lane for £40million when the £23.5million they recouped on his sale looks like an incredible piece of business, given what has happened since, but the boy from Chadwell Heath who took himself to the fringe of Jurgen Klopp's first team and has the Champions League medal to prove it will be hoping that his international brace last week can at least help get his career in South Yorkshire back on track and perhaps propel the Blades back into the Premier League for another shot at the big time come the end of the season.
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