{"id":543580,"date":"2020-02-12T11:46:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T16:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=543580"},"modified":"2020-02-12T11:46:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T16:46:06","slug":"layton-stewart-signs-first-professional-liverpool-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/02\/12\/layton-stewart-signs-first-professional-liverpool-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Layton Stewart Signs First Professional Liverpool Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Layton Stewart has signed his first professional contract with Liverpool<\/a>. The young striker has been at the club since age seven and has featured for the youth teams this season.<\/p>\n

Layton Stewart Signs First Professional Deal<\/h2>\n

New Contract for Layton Stewart<\/h3>\n

Stewart’s fine form has been rewarded by Liverpool. He has now signed his first professional contract with the club. The seventeen-year-old plays up front and has made a name for himself amongst the club’s youth sides.<\/p>\n

He helped the U19s qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Youth League, scoring against both Genk and Napoli before assisting the winner against RB Salzburg. Stewart has also played in higher age groups, breaking into Neil Critchley’s U23 side.<\/p>\n

For the U23s, he played games in the EFL Trophy, where he scored against Accrington Stanley. Stewart was also named in the squad for the Carabao Cup quarter-final by Critchley when the first team were in Qatar. He is a prolific goalscorer, who recently scored a hat trick against Sunderland for the U19s.<\/p>\n

Next Steps?<\/h3>\n

Signing a first professional contract is only a first step at a club such as Liverpool. There is no guarantee that this means Stewart will succeed at Anfield, though it certainly shows the club’s faith in him.<\/p>\n

At the moment, it is incredibly difficult for young attackers to break into the first team given the talent of Sadio Mane<\/a>, Roberto Firmino<\/a> and Mohamed Salah<\/a>. However, this also means that young attackers have world-class players to learn from.<\/p>\n

Stewart is not the only highly thought of young striker at Liverpool. Rhian Brewster already left on loan,<\/a> whilst Paul Glatzel is recovering from a long-term injury. All three, as well as players such as January signing Joe Hardy, will be hoping to make the cut at Anfield.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>