On the back of half a season in the Championship with Derby this term, in which he’s netted an impressive five goals in 24 outings, Jordon Ibe has been re-called by Liverpool. The 19-year-old is highly rated at Anfield and has already made his first-team debut under Brendan Rodgers back in 2013, leading to talk among Reds fans that he may well have as a bright a future as Raheem Sterling.

With games coming thick and fast for the Merseysiders, having another body on board makes sense. Ibe himself is a pacey, attack-minded teenager, and his fresh legs may well be of benefit to Rodgers over the latter half of the campaign. The Northern Irishman’s decision to switch to 3-4-2-1 formation favours players with willingness to take on and commit their opponents, which Ibe is adept at doing.

Now he’s back, the starlet will be competing with the likes of Lazar Markovic, Sterling, Adam Lallana and Fabio Borini, chiefly, with the quartet all options in the final third for Rodgers off a main striker – we’ve discounted Philippe Coutinho as he can operate from deeper. Although his statistics are taken from the Championship, Ibe ranks among his Liverpool counterparts, out-scoring and out-passing all four. These numbers are made all the more impressive when the youngster’s slow start with Derby is taken into account – he scored twice in his opening ten games and registered a shot accuracy rate of just 38%. In his latter 10 Rams games, however, Ibe nearly doubled that accuracy rating (60%), scored more goals and generally created a greater buzz in Steve McLaren’s squad.

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There have been comparisons with drawn Sterling, and it’s fairly easy to see why. Ibe, like his now team-mate, is adept with the ball at his feet, able to take on his man and more than capable of notching the odd spectacular goal. Although not at the same level yet, the 19-year-old is physically more imposing at almost 5ft. 10” and possesses a great deal of strength to go with his direct running.

Rodgers has shown in the past that he’s willing to give youngsters a chance, so getting Ibe back is likely to mean that he has a major first-team role. Europa League games could offer up possibilities – emerging players were used by Rodgers in the competition during 2012/13 – while talk of a spot on the bench at Aston Villa this weekend suggests he has a part to play as the Reds look to get their top four push back on track. He is, though, ineligible for the Capital One Cup and FA Cup due to having represented Derby in the competitions this season. A wise move? Looks like it could be.

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