Premier League News: Roy Hodgson keen on harnessing Liverpool's future
Liverpool’s new manager Roy Hodgson has said that he has big plans for the club and before the transfer market closes, he will bring in a few new faces to strengthen his side and take Liverpool back to the glory days that they once had.
Hodgson recently signed Danny Wilson from Scotland side Rangers to enhance the Reds’ defence. The manager said that this is the first of a number of new names soon to join Liverpool.
The former Fulham manager said that the main emphasis is understandably on enhancing the strength of the first team. The signing of Joe Cole and assurance from Steven Gerrard that he will stay are steps towards that, but Hodgson said that he is not thinking short term for Liverpool. He said that making sure that the club has a bright future is also his responsibility, so he would focus a lot of attention in signing some young players and also making sure the academies are in order.
Hodgson added that the signing of Wilson is a step towards securing the future of the club. The 18 year old Scotsman signed a 3 year deal worth 5 million pounds.
Roy Hodgson is currently with the team in Switzerland getting his side ready for the upcoming season, but he does not have most of his first choice players available to him. Several players from Liverpool were involved in the World Cup in South Africa, and are still on an extended holiday.
Liverpool played a goalless draw against Grasshoppers in Switzerland. There were only 3 players from the first team available for Hodgson in that match (Lucas Leiva, Alberto Aquilani and David Ngog).
After the match, Hodgson said that the team is preparing well ahead of the season. He added that although the team is missing some of the most important players right now, in hindsight, it does give him an opportunity to look at the young talent in the squad that actually would be the future of the club.
Hodgson went on to say that the sooner these players are introduced to first team action the better. Roy named players like Nathan Eccleston and David Amoo and said even in a 0-0 draw against Grasshoppers, he saw immense potential in these players. He said that players like these can certainly take the next step and make it to the first team in the upcoming season.
He went on to say that both of them are fairly young and can serve the club for a long time. Hodgson expressed his pleasure on the signing on David Wilson; he said that it was the Academy scouts who had been looking at Danny for a while now. He added that Wilson has shown that he has maturity beyond his age and would certainly add great value to the team.
Liverpool’s Academy ambassador Kenny Dalglish was the one who identified the talents of Wilson and is believed to have been tracking him since last season.
Wilson said he is overjoyed to be part of a club with such rich history and tradition. He said that following the footsteps of his idol Kenny Dalglish, who also went from Rangers to Liverpool, is an honour, and he hopes to achieve the same level of success with the Reds.
Wilson said that Kenny Dalglish is an absolute legend in Scotland, and Dalglish played an important role in convincing him to make the switch.
Danny Wilson made his name for Rangers by becoming the youngest player to represent his club in the Champions League. He was also young player of the season for Rangers in the 2009-10 campaign.
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