It's been a whirlwind 12 months for Conor Bradley and the good news for the 18-year-old is he's only just getting started.
The promising right-back/wide midfielder had already made his international debut for Northern Ireland before he was handed his first start for Liverpool's first team in the Carabao Cup against Norwich City at Carrow Road. He would also play against Preston and then Leicester City in the quarter-finals, in what turned out to be a classic cup tie.
But perhaps the County Tyrone-born defender's career highlight so was coming on as a late substitute for Neco Williams against AC Milan in the San Siro, as the Reds recorded a 2-1 Champions League Group Stage success. Speaking in an interview with the Independent, Bradley has reflected on a year of achievements that now includes five caps for his native Northern Ireland, the most recent of which saw him come up against Greece and Liverpool teammate Kostas Tsimikas.
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Bradley said: “It’s been a mad year for me personally being called up to the senior team this time last year and then starting against Greece. I just try and take all that in my stride and keep working hard and keep doing what I usually do and I’m thankful to Ian (Baraclough) for giving me my chance, my debut and a couple of starts and I’ll continue to keep my head down. I’m developing both as a person and as a footballer which is the main thing for me. I feel I have come on leaps and bounds over the last year and hopefully I can do something similar from now until next year.”
With the future of fellow full-back Williams uncertain, Bradley will be hoping to further increased involvement next season but is more than satisfied with the opportunities afforded to him by Jurgen Klopp during his breakthrough Liverpool campaign and in particular, making his Anfield debut.
He said: “It really was a dream come true when I stepped out on to the pitch and heard all the fans singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. It was a thing of dreams. Coming on in Europe was also very special for my Champions League debut. That was pretty mad. It was a wonderful night and I was thankful to Jurgen for giving me the chance.
“Everyone knows all about the manager. He helps you so much. He doesn’t make you feel nervous or anything. All he wants to do is help you and try and make you better. He talks about different things tactically and how to play in and out of possession and he really has helped me massively since I’ve been working with the first team.”
