Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas says Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp must leave his young players alone and "let them develop at this time".
Eighteen-year-olds Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas both scored against Southampton in midweek in a team that featured six players aged 21 or younger, after impressive performances from many academy players in Sunday's Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea.
Fabregas came through as a youngster under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and believes Klopp can learn from the environment the legendary French manager created.
Fabregas
"Nobody expected to see all these young boys coming into the final," he told the Planet Premier League podcast. "They did well. They had an amazing impact.
"[Arsene Wenger was] Always protecting us 100%. Talking to us if he had to, he used to leave us alone, just get on with it, train well, train hard.
"Prove yourself over and over again without giving too much importance to the performance.
"Klopp said that it was probably the most special trophy he's ever won, but it's because of the circumstances. Obviously, it was not a choice.
"He just had to do it this way because he had nothing else to do. But it worked out so well and now it's his job as well to leave the boys alone, let them develop at this time.
"They will grow in the manner that they that they have to, because some will take it in a really positive way. They will have a lot of personality.
"Others will need to grow in a different way. They will need more time. So we all grow and perform in different phases of our careers. I think we need to be very careful on this.
"Without stepping away from the fact that this is a very competitive world, they do need to understand where they are and what they need to do to be top players."
Comments