Will Wright scored his second successive away hat-trick in the UEFA Youth League as Liverpool Under-21s beat Fenerbahce 5-3 at Pendik Stadium, a result that keeps the 18-year-old joint top scorer in the competition. Despite the headlines, the forward remains grounded, with Under-21s boss Rob Page crediting the support around him.
Hat-trick hero stays grounded
Wright, who joined Liverpool from Salford City in a £200,000 deal last summer, has now scored six goals in the Youth League, level with Stuttgart's Enis Redzepi at the top of the scoring chart. His latest treble came days after a similar feat away from home in Europe, yet Page insists the teenager has not been carried away.
“He’s got a great support around him,” Page said. “His family are very supportive. Alex (Inglethrope, Academy director) is there to lean on, he’s got myself and Jay (Spearing), good influences. Within a week of signing for Liverpool, he passed his driving test and played at Anfield. He never got carried away.”
“What did I say to him at full-time? It was just a bit of a joke, another hat-trick, another match ball! It’s great to see young players thrive like these at the minute. The front two today played really well together.”
Development and first-team prospects
The Youth League has been a pathway for players such as Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah and Ben Doak, and Wright is the latest crop member making his mark with 13 goals across all competitions at Academy level this term. Sporting director Julian Ward watched the win in Istanbul alongside head of loan management Gary Probert and individual development coach Luiz Fernando Iubel.
Head coach Andoni Iraola has used the Champions League to rest and rotate, and Wright has spoken about wanting to learn from forwards such as Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. Page, however, said Wright need not worry about first-team promotion yet, adding that a January loan has not been ruled out.
“He doesn’t have to worry about [how far away he is from the first team],” Page said. “Just bring the best version of yourself every day in training, give absolutely everything in games as he does. The rest will take care of itself, whether it’s something in January, whether it’s keeping with us and the 21s, whether it’s our first team, he cannot control it but he can control a game day and at the minute he’s in a great place.”
Maturity and penalty flashpoint
Wright captained the side in Turkey and had a brief disagreement with John Sonni-Lambie over penalty duties after the latter won a spot kick. Wright converted the penalty for his second goal, and Page played down the spat.
“They’re all hungry to score,” Page said. “Josh won it and wanted to take it, Will is in good form and is the penalty taker. I’d rather them be passionate about it than shy away from it. [The need to show maturity] was part of my team talk, we looked at it and saw they had a lot of bookings and red cards so it didn’t surprise us. Our game plan was not to rise to the bait against a physical team like that. Their red card at the end is not great is it? A lack of discipline, we would never do that ourselves.”
Wright, who recovered from a knee injury in September last year that kept him out until January, was part of the pre-season tour to the United States in July, playing in two friendlies. Page highlighted areas for improvement, including hold-up play and heading, as Wright continues to work during the international break. With a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Bournemouth approaching, his performance in front of Ward could boost his chances of a first-team call next month.
