Liverpool lining-up 16-year-old wonderkid to replace Luis Diaz

Liverpool are already lining up a future replacement for Luis Diaz on the left-wing.

As Anfield Watch exclusively revealed the Colombian's days as a player at Anfield are numbered. The Reds are open to parting ways with Diaz as early as this summer.

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That's largely because the winger doesn't necessarily fit into Arne Slot's plans. He's not the ideal archetype of a winger Slot likes to work with.

Cody Gakpo is a much better fit and there are an exciting plethora of young wingers in the academy who could also be ready to step up to that role.

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Among them is a 16-year-old wonderkid who has been the break-out star of this season at academy level and who deserves some attention.

Why Joe Bradshaw is a future Luis Diaz replacement

All the focus on young winger's right now at Liverpool is centred on Rio Ngumoha, and rightly so because the teenager is a very exciting talent who the Reds signed from Chelsea.

But he's not the only really exciting winger prospect playing for Liverpool right now. An equally exciting gem is Joe Bradshaw who is the top-scorer for the club's U18 side with 13 goals in all competitions so far in this campaign.

A right-footed winger, who has been predominantly playing on the right but is probably better suited to play on the left under Slot, Bradshaw is an incredibly confident player.

In the U18 Premier League he has 10 goals and four assists in 17 appearances averaging a goal or assist every 98 minutes, which is a great output for a player playing in one of the worst side's in the league.

Bradshaw has a brilliant and dynamic dribbling ability. He's explosive when it comes to taking on one vs one challenges and his finishing inside the area is exactly what Slot will love.

That decisiveness has often been lacking in Luis Diaz but Bradshaw seems to have a proper striker's instinct - it's no surprise at times this season he has even been deployed as a number nine.

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Only 16 years old, Bradshaw is still very young, but he's shown incredible maturity while playing above his peers.

He's demonstrated he is ready for the next step and that is being promoted to the club's U21 team.

But a first team opportunity is not far away either. Bradshaw is already physically quite capable and relatively tall. Slot has shown this season he is not afraid to throw players in at the deep end.

With Liverpool having such a comfortable lead at the top of the Premier League, there might be opportunities for some of the club's young players to make their mark towards the end of the season, depending on how far the Reds go in the Champions League.

On current form, Bradshaw should be a contender for that opportunity.

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In the future though, it's clear Liverpool are lining him up as a potential first team player, someone who can take the void left behind by someone like Luis Diaz, who, unlike Bradshaw, doesn't have a long-term future at the club.

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