‘The Boy Has Got Skills’ – Liverpool’s Jesus Fernandez Saez

You have to feel confident about the abilities of a player picked out by a youth academy boss who brought through the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, and that’s just naming midfielders. Iker Segura took all those players on whilst at Barcelona and now he’s snapping up top talent for Liverpool just as it was hoped he would – and already he’s said to have secured a coup by beating Real Madrid and Barcelona to the signing of 16-year-old Cadiz midfielder Jesus Fernandez Saez, better known as Suso.

Suso was snapped up by Cadiz at a tender age and has excelled at youth level; impressing massively for Cadiz’s youngsters with goals and assists aplenty and a fantastic record so far for Spain’s Under 16’s having looked deadly whenever he’s played for them.

Spanish contract rules prevent young players from being tied down properly which has helped English club poach top talent in the past – Fabregas and Gerard Pique are great examples – and Liverpool raced in to secure Suso back in the summer before Real Madrid or Barcelona could agree a fee with Cadiz.

A number of tags are already being put on Suso – if you believe the hype then he’s the next Fabregas, the next Iniesta and the next Xavi. A more rounded view came from his coach at Cadiz who described Suso as an extremely talented midfielder with great passing, crossing and dribbling skills although he lacks a degree of pace. He’s played for Cadiz’s youth teams as a left midfielder but his skills seem to indicate that he would suit being a central midfielder who is capable of driving forward and leading attacks – which is why he is said to be so much like Iniesta and Fabregas.

Suso has spent this season so far with Cadiz still to get him a bit more experience in Spain before his move to Liverpool but his arrival will take place at the beginning of January and fans are very eager to see how the teenager will fare playing for the Reds youth team with the belief already being that he’ll be the biggest hero at the club since Robbie Fowler – which is saying a lot for Suso!

Granted the expectations are higher than they should be on such a young player and many players who are tipped to be the next someone fail to reach the potential they have been deemed to have but Suso has impressed in every game he has played in so far and the interest in him from both Segura and Spain’s biggest clubs has led to massive expectation. With that in mind it wouldn’t be surprising to see Suso step into the Liverpool first team much earlier than you would expect from a youngster and the teenager could soon show just what he’s capable of for the boys from Anfield and anticipation couldn’t be higher for the young man.