Oakley Cannonier scores his sixth goal of the season in just three games. The youngster has plenty of hype around him already.
Liverpool Under 18s drew 3-3 with Nottingham Forest thanks to a last-gasp equaliser from Oakley Cannonier. That’s name you’ll probably hear a lot of over the next few years.
Cannonier now has six goals for the U18s this season, despite this only being his third appearance. Before this came a brace against Stoke City and a hat-trick against Manchester United.
He’s absolutely flying right now and if he keeps this up, he won’t be playing Under 18 level for very long. Especially with Liverpool’s reported view of him.
Per the Athletic, Liverpool’s coaching staff see comparisons between Cannonier and Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian had a fine career with the Reds, of course.
“His slight frame, low centre of gravity, nifty feet and deadly finish have drawn comparisons to Philippe Coutinho from club staff,” writes the Athletic.
It’s still very early days, of course, but you can’t really do much better at this stage. Cannonier only turned 17 in May and is earning comparisons with an elite player while scoring goals at an incredible rate.
We won’t quite expect ‘Coutinho but with goals’, though we can’t help but be excited about Cannonier’s potential. If he’s still doing this by the turn of the year, then we’ll really start wondering if he’s another elite talent.
And because you need to say it in every article about Cannonier, we should mention that the teenager has already written himself into Liverpool folklore. He was the ball-boy who quickly returned the ball to Trent Alexander-Arnold for that quickly-taken corner against Barcelona.
The way he’s going right now, he might one day make that a mere footnote.
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