Liverpool are being GIFTED the next Gareth Bale

Richard Hughes has come under a lot of fire at Liverpool since the beginning of his reign at the club.

It's true the Reds' new sporting director has not made a lot of signings, and the ones that he has brought in haven't really featured much for the Reds so far.

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It's also true Hughes has failed to tie down the big three to new contracts, although he is on the verge of a massive breakthrough as Anfield Watch brought to you exclusively.

But while the focus has been on what Hughes has done wrong, there has been a lack of attention on what he has done right.

You may be surprised to find out there have been areas where Hughes has indeed been successful.

Owen Beck is about to become the next Gareth Bale

Hughes' success has been on the loan front. He has masterminded several really successful loans for the club's developing young stars continuing a strategy that has benefitted the likes of Harvey Elliott, Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah in recent years.

This time around the likes of Lewis Koumas, Ben Doak and Stefan Bajcetic are all making great progress while out on loan.

And there's another exciting young talent who is making great steps as well and probably going a bit under the radar in Liverpool circles.

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The player in question is Owen Beck, who seems to be becoming a bit of a fan favourite already at Blackburn.

Beck has made a great start to life at the club which was put briefly to a halt due to a small niggle of an injury that ruled him out of the November international break.

But on Wednesday night, Beck returned to the pitch and he returned with a bang.

The Liverpool loanee was subbed on in the 67th minute with the game at 0-0 against Middlesbrough. Suprisingly, Beck was brought on to play as a left-winger as well rather than his customary left-back role.

And he didn't disappoint.

Beck's moment of the game came towards the end as Blackburn snatched a victory against their rivals. In the lead up to the goal, Beck set-up Todd Cantwell with a deceptively brilliant backheel inside the Middlesbrough penalty area, who then squared it across for an open goal.

Blackburn fans seemed very delighted with the way Beck adjusted to his new role. One of them suggested he would like him to play in that role more often as well.

This isn't an entirely new role for Beck, he has played as a left-winger and as a left midfielder a few times for Liverpool at U21 level, including against Blackburn back in 2021.

Clearly, Liverpool have seen potential there and now Blackburn are seeing it as well.

Given that Beck is Welsh, a left-back being turned into a left-winger the comparisons with Gareth Bale are going to be inevitable, and if he continues to impress in that role, it may well be the case that Liverpool will be gifted Bale 2.0 when their starlet returns from his loan spell.

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