Liverpool set to hold January transfer talks as manager puts ball in ‘struggling’ player’s court
Liverpool executives will speak with Norwich City about the possibility of recalling their prospect, who has had difficulty getting regular playing time since temporarily moving to Carrow Road.
Since temporarily moving to Carrow Road, the Reds youngster has failed to get regular playing time; he has only made nine senior appearances overall and scored one goal. In Norwich’s most recent EFL Championship match, he played just seven minutes as the team lost 2-1 to Burnley.
Gordon, a winger who has only played eight minutes since September, had not been included in the Canaries’ lineup for their past three league games. According to the Liverpool ECHO, the attacker’s parent club is anticipated to recall him in January.
That said, their report does state that a definitive call on whether the 20-year-old will return to Merseyside will be made following talks in the coming month.
Addressing Gordon’s situation, Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup expressed his sympathy towards the starlet, saying: “The ideal scenario was that he was in the starting line-up every weekend.
“At the time, that is not true. As we are naturally expected to do, we work to help him grow, get better, talk to him, and treat him like everyone else. We’ll continue to do it.
“I don’t think I will consider now whether he should go back in January because I see such a busy schedule, so I can easily see that he could make his way into the team again if he’s training well and doing his stuff like he’s supposed to do,” he added, insisting that the striker could still find a way into his plans.
Ultimately, the Canaries boss has put the ball in Gordon’s court when it comes to whether he will remain in Norfolk. He said: “At the end, it is also up to him in his career what his next step should be. If he wants to stay here and fight, I would be more than happy about it because we need good players, and he is definitely a good player.
“He’s struggling to get into the team with all it takes physically and especially tactically. As a football team, we need more than 20 players to create the competition that we want to have. It’s a natural thing, and for the moment, he is out of the team because I prioritise some of the others.”
Reinforcing his message, he asserted: “It can change. What I do is select the 20 players that I think are the best ones for the game that we have to win. I will do that every day and every time. What it means is if you are out of that team, then it’s a decision from me that I think some of the other guys are better suited for that game week.
“It can change, and it can change in a league where there are so many games, and we go into a period where we play with only three or four games, rest in between, sometimes even less than that.”
Thorup added: “It is always my words to the players that are not in the team to do the same every day they meet in they have to keep the same high standards no matter if you play or not. That’s the only thing that you can do.”
