Stoke City have reached out to Liverpool in search of young players who could be available for loan, with striker Rhian Brewster and midfielder Curtis Jones both understood to have been discussed.
Given Liverpool's push for the Premier League title, Jürgen Klopp has been unable to field as many young players as many fans would perhaps like him to, meaning the likes of Brewster and Jones have been forced to spend most of their time playing in the reserves.
With Stoke struggling towards the bottom of the Championship, Dean Jones has revealed that the Potters have spoken to Liverpool about the possibility of taking the two players on loan.
There is no mention of whether Liverpool would be willing to send either Brewster or Jones out on loan, but they are both moves which certainly would make sense.
19-year-old Brewster was on the cusp of a breakthrough to the first team last season, but has struggled to compete with Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mané for minutes. His only senior appearances this season have come in the Carabao Cup, with the striker instead spending his time with the Reds' Under-23 side.
It has been a similar story for Jones. The highly rated 18-year-old has been forced to accept minutes in cup competitions, but he did manage 14 minutes in the Premier League in December's 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
Jones was not even part of the youthful Liverpool side who fell to Aston Villa in the FA Cup as he had instead travelled to Qatar to sit on the bench for the Reds' Club World Cup triumph.
With the two players left competing for minutes in the reserves, Stoke's proposal of offering them regular experience with a senior side will likely have given Liverpool something to consider.
Stoke currently find themselves one point above the relegation zone in the Championship, but they are a side who are actually on the up.
Current manager Michael O'Neill took charge in November 2019 with the Potters bottom of the league, but they have lost just two of their last six games to inspire this push away from the drop zone.
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Source : 90min