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Luca Stephenson looked up and saw Luis Diaz barrelling towards him while, on the other flank, Mohamed Salah loitered with intent as Arne Slot watched from the sidelines.
After a season on loan in League Two, this summer was a first taste of the elite level at Liverpool for the Academy graduate
Stephenson
"I'd never really trained with the first team until I came back from Barrow,"
“It was a surreal moment. To be training with Salah and co is not something to be taken lightly after a year in League Two.
“I did my first week with the under-21s in pre-season, then I spoke to the Academy manager (Alex Inglethorpe) and he said you may get a chance with the first team.”
"Once you go over there and do one session, it's on you really to make sure you impress. You might stay up there if you do."
Stephenson evidently succeeded, remaining part of the squad that travelled for the tour of the USA.
The youngster featured against Real Betis, Arsenal and Manchester United before an Anfield outing in the friendly win over Sevilla.
Stephenson said
“With the Euros and Copa America in the summer, there was a shortage of first-team players,"
"I saw that as a good opportunity to show the new manager I was ready to take my chance.
"It was crazy playing in front of those crowds. Going from playing in front a few thousand at Barrow to almost 80,000 in America was a proud moment. It's something you dream of at a very young age."
"Who was the most difficult opponent in training? Most to be fair, if I'm being honest!" laughs Stephenson
"The quality in the first team is outrageous really, isn't it?
“You train against Luis Diaz, Fabio Carvalho was still there, those players were playing down the left and are running at you in training... I would look forward to it but think 'jeez, this is going to be a hard session!'.
"But it stands you in good stead because now I'm thinking if I can get through a 90-minute in-house game against Luis Diaz, then I can have full confidence playing against anybody as he's one of the best wingers in the world.
"I spoke to the manager when we were out in America. He said he'd been impressed by me and spoke about last season's loan and what the level was like there. He was really good with me."
The Sunderland-born player, gained a reputation for versatility in the youth ranks despite having an obvious preference when heading out for his first loan last year.
Stephenson explained
"Everybody at Liverpool thought I was best going on loan as a midfielder and Barrow saw me as one,"
“Then about three weeks into the spell both right-backs got injured and the manager said 'look, I've seen you play right-back before, do you fancy it?' and I ended up playing there, had a few good games and went from there.”
"I played at right-back in pre-season for Liverpool, and Dundee United have brought me in as a right wing-back.
“I wouldn't say right-back was my first position but I've learned a lot about it in the last couple of years to know what I am doing."
Stephenson made 34 appearances for Barrow last term as they narrowly missed out on the League Two play-offs.
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