Rhian Brewster reveals ‘weird’ feeling about returning to Liverpool

Samuel Bannister 24 Oct 2020 11:54 AM

Rhian Brewster insists he made the right decision to leave Liverpool for Sheffield United, but admits it will be “weird” to be back at Anfield.

After coming through the academy ranks at Liverpool, whom he joined at the age of 14, Brewster called time on his six-year stay on Merseyside this summer.

Having impressed on loan at Swansea in the Championship during the second half of last season, Brewster decided it was time to move on for more regular football elsewhere.

Sheffield United paid a club record £23.5m to sign him, although Liverpool retain a buyback clause. Jurgen Klopp initially wanted to keep the striker, but his desire for regular football made that impossible – even if Liverpool still believe in him.

His former employers will see what he can do in the Premier League first hand on Saturday. Brewster will likely be involved as Sheffield United visit Anfield to face the champions.

And Brewster admits he will be happy to be back at his old stomping ground.

“It’s going to be a bit weird,” he told the Daily Mail. “But it will be a nice moment, just to see everybody. I didn’t get to say goodbye because it [the transfer] happened so quick.”

The 20-year-old remains highly rated at Liverpool, and not just by Klopp and his coaches. Brewster revealed that several of his former teammates used to frequently praise his finishing ability.

“All the players say how good of a finisher I am and stuff like that,” he said. “Coming from them, that is amazing.

“That means a lot but that’s not for me to take and be ok with, it’s for me to carry on doing what I’m doing, carry on working hard and practicing on it.”

Brewster now has a big opportunity to prove himself in the top flight in South Yorkshire. And he is relishing the chance to make an impact on a bigger stage than what he would have had at Liverpool.

He added: “When you’re scoring at [under] 23s it’s good, but when you’re scoring in men’s football in the papers, in the news, it’s a lot different because of where you’re doing it. You’re doing it in a bigger stage.

“Now the Premier League is a bigger stage than the Championship and hopefully I can do the same in the Prem.

“It was the right time for me to get out and try and prove myself in the Premier League.

“I could have stayed at Liverpool and been in and around it, training, this week for Champions League and stuff like that.

“Of course, I’ve left a lot of people behind at Liverpool that I loved seeing every day and it was a difficult decision but hopefully everyone else sees that I made the right decision to go to Sheffield United.”

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Brewster reveals Milner inspiration

However, Brewster has not completely left Liverpool behind. Indeed, he says he still takes inspiration from his former teammates for the work they put in – not least James Milner.

“Not one person slacks off and I’ll always remember that,” Brewster said. “Even if I feel I want to.

“For example James Milner. He’s in his 30s and still going strong. That’s for a reason. Because he is always in the gym, eating right, doing everything he can to be the best.

“That’s one thing that I’ll 100 per cent take from Liverpool and James Milner.

“I would 100 per cent take that [longevity] and look what he is doing in his 30s and why can’t I do that?

“The standards, they set the bar very high and that’s something I will never forget and hopefully people looking at me, when I’m older they will hopefully feel the same way.”

Rhian Brewster