Arne Slot has stood behind his early words at Liverpool about allowing younger players to prove themselves, as he confirms James McConnell will get a chance in the first team in the second half of the season. The Liverpool boss has been utilising the size of his squad over the last few games as the Reds' fixture list continues to pile up.

Younger players such as Jayden Danns, Tyler Morton, Trey Nyoni and James McConnell all made an appearance during Liverpool's 3-2 defeat at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday evening – and one player was a stand-out in Slot's eyes.

The manager believes that 20-year-old McConnell has played his way into the Liverpool first team, despite Wednesday being just his third start for the club. Previously, Slot has been open about giving younger players a chance in the team, as he said at the beginning of his Liverpool tenure that if a player is good enough, then he is old enough to play.

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Back in the summer, Slot expressed: "I like to see good players, if they are old or young it doesn’t matter that much. It’s always nice for a club and team that young players come through the ranks. So that always gives energy into a club as well so that it’s not only the players brought in from other clubs but also players from the academy.

"In the end, it’s about the quality – and I did a review and they [young players] did really well. So, if they continue doing so – there will be a fair chance they will play as well."

Initially, fans were of the belief that the likes of McConnell and other youth players would go out on loan before the transfer window slams shut on Monday evening. But Slot has U-turned on that idea with McConnell at least, as the boss has other plans for the young English midfielder.

The manager revealed that the will be holding talks with Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes to determine the futures of several players in the squad – but he has been very impressed with McConnell's play recently.

After the narrow defeat to PSV on Wednesday, Slot said: "There’s always a chance in life. And at the moment we have most of our players fit so we will have this discussion tomorrow I think between me and Richard (Hughes) about these players. But there’s definitely one that will not go out on loan: James McConnell.

"I liked him a lot today. Maybe the end result today would be good for him to go and play (elsewhere) but he is a player who hasn’t played a lot in the last six or seven months as he was injured for a while. He impressed me a lot today.

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"He is competitive in the training sessions we had, he is always very competitive. I’m not surprised (by how he played), but you always wonder how you will react at this level. James plays and is competitive. He definitely deserves credit for his performance today."

Slot will have to utilise the full depth of his squad in the coming weeks, as Liverpool are still involved in all domestic competitions, as well as Europe. They are in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, the fourth round of the FA Cup, the last 16 of the Champions League, and are currently first in the Premier League – so they'll need all the help they can get to continue this impressive form.

Slot's squad are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they take on high-flying Bournemouth in the Premier League at the Vitality Stadium at 3pm.