Liverpool winger Kaide Gordon has spent the entire pre-season with the U21s, scoring in their final friendly ahead of a likely move away this summer.
Liverpool U21s ended pre-season with a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland on Saturday, in the sixth and final friendly ahead of a trip to Leicester next week.
Gordon was the goalscorer at the AXA Training Centre in a game that saw Jayden Danns and new signing Will Wright play a half each up front.
James McConnell made his second appearance of the summer following a troubling injury and was able to play an hour as he looks to prove his fitness ahead of a loan move.
Head coach Rob Page continued to share the minutes throughout his squad, with the former Wales manager still assessing who will and won’t be part of his plans for the new campaign.
Many of those within his extended group will leave before the transfer deadline on September 1, with Gordon chief among those.
The 20-year-old has become something of a forgotten man following a difficult season out on loan at Norwich and then Portsmouth, and tellingly was not involved in the first-team friendlies against Athletic Club at Anfield.
Though no concrete interest is known at this stage the likelihood is that Gordon will again leave on a temporary basis this summer.
He will do so having featured in all of the U21s’ warmup friendlies and started the majority, as the young Reds faced Celtic (8-0 win), Wigan’s senior side (1-1 draw), RC Lens (3-1 win), Hull (0-0 draw), Bolton (1-0 loss) and then Sunderland (2-1 loss).
His ability to play in every game will be considered a positive in itself, with Gordon having struggled with injury problems during his time at Liverpool.
But having been viewed as the next to step up to the senior squad following his breakthrough under Jurgen Klopp, it is clear that the opportunity of first-team football at Anfield has passed him by.
This summer Arne Slot has turned to 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha among his options in attack while Ben Doak, who is still only 19 himself, continued to impress after his loan at Middlesbrough.
Page’s U21s will kick off the league campaign with a trip to Leicester on Monday night, with their first home game of Premier League 2 coming against Burnley on August 25.