If Liverpool had any concerns about how one of its brightest academy products would react to his big contract news this week, they were quickly laid to bed on Saturday.

Josh Sonni-Lambie is starting to make big strides at underage level. After a slow beginning to the season, the 17-year-old has provided four goals and three assists in his last six appearances for Liverpool’s Under-18s. He’s a burgeoning talent and has started every Premier League 2 game this season for the Reds.

The news that the striker had penned a first professional contract this week came as no surprise to those who follow the club’s youth teams. If anything, the only shock was that it had taken this long. Liverpool.com was among the handful of media outlets in attendance at Saturday’s Under-18s game against Manchester United, and the striker instantly stood out.

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There’s a languid grace to Sonni-Lambie, who is a nimble center-forward. He’s slight of frame but doesn’t lack physicality - or technical ability. At 17, it’s clear he already has developed a well-rounded game and is confident dropping deep or into the wide areas to create openings.

Against United, Sonni-Lambie's ability to link the play impressed and, while there’s obviously a long way to go before he can reach the first team, the early signs are hugely encouraging.

Inevitably, it was the no.9 who fired Liverpool back into the game in the latter stages of the first half when he fastened onto a long ball from Joseph Bradshaw. Collecting it near the center circle, Sonni-Lambie drove forward, cut inside and bypassed United defender Albert Mills, before firing confidently into the net from just inside the box.

“He’s a good player. He has a lot of potential and is still growing as you can see,” was manager Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s post-match verdict. “He took his goal really well and I thought his all-round performance was really good.”

“I think for everybody inside Liverpool it’s not a surprise,” the Under-18s manager added, when asked about Sonnie-Lambie’s new contract. “I think what he has been doing all season has been fantastic and whether he signed his contract last week, this week or next week, I don’t think that Josh has got to concentrate on anything other than football.

“That’s why you get these contract offers and he deserves it for the performances he has been putting in.”

He wasn’t the only player who stood out for Liverpool at Kirkby. The Reds had fallen behind to a first-half Victor Musa brace, but Sonnie-Lambie reduced the deficit when he netted minutes before the half-time interval. Tyler Martin then rescued a 2-2 draw with an 89th minute equalizer on a freezing Merseyside afternoon.

But, in truth, Liverpool were fortunate to still be in the game at that stage and owed the point to several outstanding saves from goalkeeper Bailey Hall. Twice in the second half he stopped Musa from grabbing a hat-trick with instinctive, point-blank saves, as he did from a Godwill Kukonki header and a curled Shay Lacey effort.

“It’s safe to say that he kept us in the game and made two or three really good saves in the second half that basically allowed us to score an equalizer late on,” opined Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. “Good performance and I’m really thankful for his performance. We’re pleased we managed to get something from it.

“It was disappointing to go two down, but I can’t say it wasn’t deserved,” he added. “We didn’t defend certain moments well and ended up in that situation. But being two goals down and coming back to get something shows we fight and we scrap and are willing to go to the final whistle.

“We got better in the second half, created some good moments in and around their box and maybe could have had a few more goals than the ones we did get.”

The second-half fightback saw United drop points for just the second time this season on an encouraging afternoon for Sonni-Lambie, Hall and their Liverpool team-mates. Liverpool is 11th in the 12-team Northern Premier League 2 table, but more impressively displays like Saturdays and it will surely start climbing up the division soon.