When Liverpool rallied to defeat Luton Town and go four points clear atop the Premier League, manager Jurgen Klopp made sure that highly-rated teenage forward Jayden Danns had a night to remember.
Although Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Luton Town isn’t likely to go down in history books, Jayden Danns will always remember the game.
Danns, eighteen, is the son of Neil Danns, a former mainstay of the EFL who had stints with Crystal Palace, Leicester City, and Bolton Wanderers. The midfield player made 676 appearances in his career, and he watched Danns Junior win the first senior match at Anfield.
Danns’ debut at Anfield may have been made possible by Liverpool’s lengthy injury list, but Merseysiders hold great regard for the adaptable young forward. And since players like Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, and Mohamed Salah are all out right now, there’s a good chance we’ll see more of him in the upcoming weeks, even though those might just be cameos.
Similar to his father, Danns has been registered at Liverpool since he was a young student. Danns, a first-year scholar for Liverpool’s Under-18s in 2022–23, has flourished since joining the team at the age of eight. He scored ten goals in that campaign.
But that will all be nothing compared to what happened to him on Wednesday night. After a thrilling comeback in the second half and the legendary Anfield atmosphere had secured the points, Klopp turned to the teenager in the 89th minute and gave him the go-ahead to don the renowned red shirt.
After the game, he ran straight to the little player and gave him a big smile and hug. Then Rob Edwards interjected, telling Klopp that he had in fact played with Danns’ father—a story the Liverpool manager appeared to find highly entertaining.
In spite of playing little, Danns stood out and was crucial to Liverpool’s fourth goal, assisting Cody Gakpo with the ball before Harvey Elliott’s goal was made possible by a defensive blunder.
Danns was appropriately one of seven players under 21 who played for Liverpool on Wednesday night. Even if the terrifying thought of playing without Klopp is now very much looming big, the future at Anfield is bright.
In his post-game press conference, he mentioned Danns by name and expressed how appreciative the young player was to have his major break from the bench. Following the game, he stated:
“We don’t need to make the [injury] situation better than it is right now; it’s not terrific at all. I’m overjoyed that every child attended and participated in the game; Jayden Danns, who goes by Dannsy, thanked his boss fifty times.
“I’m thrilled I could provide him that chance; the lads certainly deserve it.
“But obviously, we’re approaching a lot of really significant games; we just don’t know yet; it’s day by day.” I have no idea and am unable to comment on it. However, I had no idea that things would turn out the way they did after Brentford.
“Well, let’s investigate. One thing remains true: we’ll go for it as long as we have 11. All I can say is that.”
