Jürgen Klopp's final season has proved to be a special one for a raft of Liverpool youngsters. The departing Reds boss has never been afraid to chuck players in when they are ready but this campaign it has often been a case of needs must.

Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah have established themselves as first-team regulars and can expect even more prominent roles next season. The likes of Jayden Danns, Bobby Clark and James McConnell have also stepped up to the plate, featuring at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final success over Chelsea.

Back in 2019, Klopp looked set to give teenage striker Bobby Duncan a role in the first team after he was called up to join the squad for pre-season. Duncan, who is a cousin of Reds legend Steven Gerrard, found the net in a 6-0 friendly success over Tranmere after shining at academy level.

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But it was from that point that his relationship soured. His agent Saif Rubie accused Liverpool of 'mentally bullying' the teenager after rejecting two loan offers for his services. Rubie went on to claim Duncan had not left the house for days and would not return to the club, with Liverpool vehemently denying the allegations.

Klopp insisted Duncan remained part of his plans, telling The Guardian: "Bobby is one of our young players; we really, really care about our young players. The big problem they could have is they lose patience because life is like this.

"You have to make it step by step. If you are Lionel Messi, you can play for Barcelona at 17 but you don’t see that very often. It is possible but mostly it is really about patience."

Klopp's advice was not heeded and Duncan completed a permanent switch to Fiorentina on the final day of the transfer window. He never played for the Serie A side and was back in England a year later at Derby County.

Duncan, who is now just 22, was playing in the fourth tier in Spain just last season. He blames Rubie for the sorry tale and responded to his agent on social media in September 2022, writing: "I did not have a decision. You took it upon yourself to jeopardize my career and to turn a local lad away from his boyhood club, and leave me and my family to pick up the pieces.

"I should never have trusted my career in your hands. I have learnt my lesson and I just pray you have learnt yours as it could ruin another young boy's career."

Rubie has this week been in court and found not guilty of sending a threatening e-mail to ex-Chelsea chief Marina Granovskaia. The case related to Kurt Zouma's transfer to West Ham in 2022, with Rubie believing he was due a commission on the transfer fee, as he felt he had acted as an intermediary on Chelsea's behalf.