News / National
Zimbabwean teen gets long-term role at Liverpool
08 Nov 2020 at 07:33hrs | Views
Another young Liverpool midfielder is being tried out at right-back.
Trent AlexanderArnold famously switched from midfield to become Jurgen Klopp's first-choice right-back in recent seasons.
And now England-born Zimbabwean teenager Isaac Mabaya, who stepped up from the Under16s this season, has made the same move.
Liverpool Under-18s coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson told the Liverpool Echo that he has been impressed by the progress made by young Mabaya despite his switch from right-back to right winger.
"It's something we have been looking at in training in the last week so we felt it was right to give Isaac a go," Bridge-Wilkinson said of the 16-year-old Zimbabwean teen star.
"I've been fortunate in that I've worked with Isaac for the last two years or so on and off.
"I know an awful lot about him, his game and his character. It doesn't surprise me that he's capable of playing at this level."
Mabaya has already been capped by England at Under-1 level, but can switch allegiance to Zimbabwe in the future as he qualifies through his parents.
The teenage star's father David worked as a pharmacist at United Bulawayo Hospitals up to 2000 before relocating to London.
They hail from Mutare where he last visited in 2014.
In a previous interview, young Mabaya revealed that he has been following the exploits of his compatriots Marvelous Nakamba, Khama Billiat and Marshall Munetsi and appears to have set his sights on playing for his country of birth.
Mabaya, who idolises former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, was signed by Liverpool in 2013 at the age of eight and he has progressed through the junior ranks at the famous English club.
Trent AlexanderArnold famously switched from midfield to become Jurgen Klopp's first-choice right-back in recent seasons.
And now England-born Zimbabwean teenager Isaac Mabaya, who stepped up from the Under16s this season, has made the same move.
Liverpool Under-18s coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson told the Liverpool Echo that he has been impressed by the progress made by young Mabaya despite his switch from right-back to right winger.
"It's something we have been looking at in training in the last week so we felt it was right to give Isaac a go," Bridge-Wilkinson said of the 16-year-old Zimbabwean teen star.
"I've been fortunate in that I've worked with Isaac for the last two years or so on and off.
"I know an awful lot about him, his game and his character. It doesn't surprise me that he's capable of playing at this level."
Mabaya has already been capped by England at Under-1 level, but can switch allegiance to Zimbabwe in the future as he qualifies through his parents.
The teenage star's father David worked as a pharmacist at United Bulawayo Hospitals up to 2000 before relocating to London.
They hail from Mutare where he last visited in 2014.
In a previous interview, young Mabaya revealed that he has been following the exploits of his compatriots Marvelous Nakamba, Khama Billiat and Marshall Munetsi and appears to have set his sights on playing for his country of birth.
Mabaya, who idolises former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, was signed by Liverpool in 2013 at the age of eight and he has progressed through the junior ranks at the famous English club.
Source - Liverpool Echo
