Liverpool U21s head coach Rob Page has dealt a “harsh lesson” to January signing Noah Adekoya, who has dropped out of his starting lineup after a “strange” issue.
Page’s appointment as U21s head coach has brought a new level of standards at Liverpool’s academy, and that has led them to the top of Premier League 2.
Having already built an impressive CV as a senior manager with Port Vale, Northampton and Wales, the 51-year-old is clearly a demanding coach on and off the pitch.
It was perhaps telling, then, as he sent a message to centre-back Adekoya – absent for the last two games after an impressive run of four starts in a row – over a fitness complaint which saw him “give the jersey up.”
“Noah’s fit. It’s a strange one actually,” he told reporters including This Is Anfield‘s Sam Millne after Sunday’s 5-0 win over Wolves U21s.
“He had a fitness test, or he felt something in his hamstring, on the Thursday before the game on the Sunday. I think he ended up training on the Sunday.
“My message to the players is don’t give your jersey up too easy. If I’ve got the jersey, you’d have to carry me off the pitch to give the jersey up.
“I think sometimes at academy football maybe it’s too easy to give up.
“I don’t think I ever played in a game where I was 100 percent fit, there’s always something that you’re carrying, and if they want to have a career elsewhere they’ve got to have that mentality.
“So a harsh lesson for him to learn, but now Amara [Nallo]’s come back in and Mor [Talla Ndiaye]’s training with us every day now.
“So we’ll build [Mor’s] fitness up gradually and hopefully we’ll get to see him in the next couple of weeks.”
The suggestion is that Adekoya, a 19-year-old ball-playing defender signed from Burnley in January, has now effectively lost his place in the side after an unnecessary concern over injury.
It can certainly be argued that young players should not be encouraged to play through injury and that every caution should be taken for those whose bodies are still developing.
But Page’s comments clearly highlight the poor timing of this situation, with Nallo returning to partner Carter Pinnington at centre-back vs. Wolves after a three-match suspension.
With Liverpool looking to bed in £1 million signing Ndiaye and only two games left of the normal U21s season, there may be few more opportunities for Adekoya to catch the eye in 2025/26.