Arne Slot could finally make major Liverpool change after two-year wait ends

Arne Slot could finally make major Liverpool change after two-year wait ends

If there is one player in the Liverpool squad who understands the value of patience, it's Conor Bradley.

It's easy to forget the Northern Ireland international made his senior Reds debut way back in September 2021 and went on to make another four appearances that campaign, including a brief cameo from the bench in the Champions League group stage win at AC Milan.

But having started the FA Cup win over Shrewsbury Town in January 2022, right-back Bradley had to wait almost two years until his next Liverpool outing.

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Of course, there was a hugely successful 2022/23 season spent on loan at League One side Bolton Wanderers where he featured at Wembley in the EFL Trophy win over Plymouth Argyle.

But when Bradley returned to start pre-season with the first team, a back injury ruled him out for more than four months. He was back in action with a substitute appearance against LASK Linz in late November and then started the Europa League dead rubber at Union Saint-Gilloise and featured for more than 20 minutes in the League Cup win over West Ham United.

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But it was when replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold late on in the FA Cup win at Arsenal in January that Bradley seized the initiative, helping tame Gabriel Martinelli and thwart a Gunners comeback.

That was the spark the 20-year-old needed to finally ignite his senior Liverpool career. And, with Alexander-Arnold injured and Joe Gomez required at left-back, Bradley made up for lost time by making the most of his long-awaited opportunity, starting 16 of the next 19 matches in all competitions.

An assist on his Premier League debut at Bournemouth was followed by two more in the FA Cup triumph over Norwich City and a further brace in the defeat of Chelsea during which he scored a memorable first Liverpool goal. He also started the League Cup final win over the Londoners.

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With his willingness to burst forward, ability to move into central positions as an inverted right-back and defensive doggedness, Bradley, while understandably raw on occasion, soon became a crowd favourite and won the PFA Premier League Fans' Player of the Month for January.

And while the attacking numbers dried up after that early flourish, his level of performance remained constant until the setback of an ankle injury in the home defeat to Crystal Palace in mid-April that meant his only further involvement in the season was a 19-minute run-out on the final day against Wolves.


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