‘Something I wanted to be a part of’ – Liverpool have officially confirmed transfer of midfielder

“Just to see the atmosphere in the stadium, it makes you think, ‘you know, I want a piece of that’. From speaking to a lot of people who have played for the club in the past and a few of the lads that are here now, nobody had a bad word to say about the place. There were just positive words everywhere and it’s something I wanted to be a part of.”

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Best of luck to Luca at Bolton!

Although it always feels anti-climactic when a player works his way up the age grades at the academy without making a first-team appearance for Liverpool, we’re very pleased for Stephenson that he’s earned a move to a club on the up where he should have a strong chance of regular game-time.

He joins Bolton off the back of rave reviews for his performances on loan at Dundee United, whose manager Jim Goodwin hailed him as a ‘standout‘ player and one of the team’s ‘most consistent performers‘.

Realistically his chance at Anfield was unlikely to come, having never even been named in an official matchday squad for the Reds, and at his age (he turns 23 in September) it’s natural that he wants to put down roots at a club where he could plausibly have regular senior minutes.

The Trotters’ promotion to the Championship gives Stephenson a fine platform on which to perform, and he could conceivably come up against Liverpool next seaosn if his new side are drawn to face us in either (maybe even both) of the domestic cups.

We wish him all the best for the remainder of his career – hopefully he’ll go and smash it at Bolton!