Former Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson believes Conor Bradley has what it takes to cement himself as Liverpool’s first-choice right back this season.
Johnson joined Liverpool from Portsmouth in 2009 and immediately established the right-back position as his own. He made 25 Premier League appearances in his debut season, only losing game time to an injury keeping him out from December to March.
This season, however, the position has been much more competitive with Reds boss Arne Slot giving starts to Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai, Jeremie Frimpong and Curtis Jones at right back.
After Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure, Johnson was confident that Liverpool’s young Northern Irish fullback, Bradley, would push on.
He told Mersey Sport Live: “You know, I’ve said in every interview I’ve done, I think he’s more than capable of filling his shoes and making that spot his own. I think he’s got all the attributes to do so.”
Bradley has made 14 appearances in all competitions so far this season, but the right side of defence still doesn’t seem set in stone. Persistent injuries and strong competition have denied the full-back from displaying his talents consistently.
Johnson said: “He’s good going forward, he’s good on the ball, he’s a good defender, he’s a good athlete. So, I think he’s got it all, he just needs to string a few decent performances together and I think he’s got the slot.”
Johnson, who also played for Chelsea, Stoke and West Ham and was capped 54 times for England, spent the longest spell of his career in Liverpool where he stayed for six years, scoring nine goals in 200 appearances. Thirty of these came in the 2013/14 title charge when Brendan Rodgers’ side narrowly missed out on the Premier League trophy.
Johnson looks back on a campaign that came so near yet so far.
He said: “We were the best team by far. So, to not just get it over the line at the end was a bit of a shame.
“But it’s hard to win the Premier League and we just had one too many slip-ups and that was it.”
One thing that spurred Johnson on from his debut and throughout difficult moments at Anfield, was Liverpool’s famous anthem.
He said: “Everyone always says it, but when you hear You’ll Never Walk Alone for the first time, it does make your hair stand up. It’s very special. Obviously, people get to hear it as an away player, but when you know it’s for you and it’s coming from your corner, it means 10 times more.”
There are many players from Johnson’s six years at Liverpool that fans would love to see wear the red shirt again.
But his choice for the most underrated player from his time at the club might be a surprise.
“Lucas Leiva,” said Johnson. “I think any team that’s going to win the league needs a player like Lucas. Someone that can just do everything very well. He’s not going to be getting you five, eight goals a season, but he allows other people to do that.”
And what about the most underrated player he faced during his career?
“I’m going to say Scholes,” he reveals. “Not that he’s underrated, everyone knows how good he is, but until you play against him, you don’t know how good he is.
“He’s very, very intelligent. He can’t run and he can’t tackle, but because he’s so intelligent, he doesn’t need to.
“He plays a different kind of football” Johnson adds. “Not that he’s underrated because everyone knows he’s world-class, but I think he was better than I was expecting.”
*Glen Johnson was speaking on behalf of Online Betting Guide.
