Rodgers Hails Ibe, Liverpool Next Sensation

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, Sports News Thursday, May 15th, 2014

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will give Nigerian born forward Jordon Femi Ibe a chance to stake a claim for a place in the first squad next season.

Jordon Femi Ibe

Ibe, who put in a man-of-the-match performance during Wednesday’s 4-0 friendly victory over Shamrock Rovers in Dublin was on a short loan at Birmingham.

“Jordon Ibe is a young player, 18 years of age. We’re coaching and developing him,” said Rodgers.

“He’s been a wide player traditionally in a 4-3-3 but he came in for the second half and played at the top of a diamond and he showed wonderful intelligence and quality – technically and tactically – to play.”

The youngster has received plenty of encouragement from Rodgers and hopes to be able to kick on when the team gets back together after their summer break.

“The manager has told me to try to work on my end product and get more goals,” Ibe told the club’s official website.

“I missed a few chances (against Rovers) so hopefully I can do well in pre-season with the first team.

“It was a great experience playing at Birmingham and I’ve gained a little bit of experience, especially from the senior players.

“Hopefully, coming back here I can work on it through pre-season and become a better player.”

Meanwhile, the futures of defender Daniel Agger and midfielder Lucas Leiva, both regular first-team starters, remain up in the air while loan signings Aly Cissokho and Victor Moses will both return to their respective parent clubs Valencia and Chelsea.