Klopp left stunned as Liverpool youth star joins first-team training

Jonny Whitfield 18 Aug 2020 7:54 AM

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says teenage defender Billy Koumetio is a “big talent” after allowing him to join one of his side’s first-team training sessions.

The Reds are in Austria on a training camp as they gear up for the defence of their Premier League title.

As well as the regular stars and new signing Kostas Tsimikas, Liverpool also brought some of their younger talents on board.

Among them was 17-year-old Koumetio, a two-time France Under-18 international. Speaking to his club’s official website, Klopp admitted surprise at the teenager’s ability after inviting him to a training session.

“Billy the kid. He doesn’t look like a kid!” Klopp said. “In my opinion, his face looks like a kid but then all the rest is like, wow!

“I told him, ‘Last time I saw you, you were like 20 centimetres less if I’m right.’ That’s pretty special. Yes, he’s a big talent.

“Billy was unfortunately injured for quite a while, so he’s now coming back. The perfect situation would be that he maybe really first be with the U23s and stuff like this.

“But a training camp is a nice opportunity for him, it’s good for us to see him.”

KLOPP EXCITED ABOUT KOUMETIO’S PROSPECTS

Klopp also revealed that he spent time working with Koumetio in a bid to greater assess his qualities.

“I took him this morning [Sunday] in a session because we have to make sure we don’t over-do [it] with him, it’s very important,” Klopp said.

“So he was not part of the last part of the session physically but I took him aside and explained what we do there.

“I think things like this help him a lot and I’m pretty sure he will make big steps. We just have to make sure that we really deal with his age group and physical demands well.”

Billy Koumetio