Young Liverpool goalkeeper Liam Hughes has been discussing how he left Celtic for Anfield last year.
Hughes followed a host of highly-rated academy prospects in leaving for elite clubs over the last couple of years. He joined the likes of Liam Morrison, Barry Hepburn, and Vincent Angelini in moving to top leagues.
Hughes has since been a regular with Liverpool at U23 level since his departure. In addition to that, he’s also been training with the first-team regularly and has even appeared on their bench.
This year, however, he’s been sent out on loan to Stalybridge Celtic for the rest of 2022 after signing a new long-term contract in the summer. And Hughes has been speaking to the Belfast Telegraph as he finally explains how his move to Anfield came about:
“My contract ran out at Celtic and I was home for a wee while in January and the Under-23s goalkeeping coach Mark Morris at Liverpool phoned me one day.
“One of their goalkeepers was leaving and he had heard that I was free and I was over there within a week. It was mad. I had supported Liverpool since I was young so it was crazy joining the club. It happened really fast.
“You are going over and trying to get used to everything and settle in. I was with a whole new group and it was about making a good impression as quickly as I could.”
Was Liam Hughes even offered a Celtic stay?
The big question here would be whether Celtic even chose to offer Hughes an extended stay at the club. Interesting that he claims he was back home in Northern Ireland for a while after his contract had run out. That’s not to say he didn’t have the choice of staying, but it certainly sounds that way.
You can’t deny the move to Anfield has been huge for the player. It’s a massive opportunity to grow and develop at one of football’s biggest institutions. An historic and current footballing powerhouse. You can see why he was itching to get a deal done.
Since then, Hughes has signed his new deal, been given a spot on Liverpool’s bench in the EPL, and become a full Northern Ireland international. Even if he’s now been drafted down into non-league football for the time being, it’s been an ideal career step for him.
Celtic, however, appear to have their goalkeeping plans sorted for both the short-term and the long-term. Joe Hart doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere soon whilst Scott Bain has had some faith invested in him with a new contract. Not to mention Tobi Oluwayemi looks more than likely to be third choice.
Perhaps it was just a case of Celtic not seeing a place for Hughes in their current set-up. Regardless, it’s probably a move that’s worked out for all parties, with Hughes finally getting the first-team exposure he needs in the second half of 2022.
It will be interesting to see what kind of progress he makes down south. But one thing’s for sure, he’s already getting some incredible experience training under Klopp.
In other news, The one thing about Celtic that appears to have blown Daizen Maeda away
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