Liverpool supporters might not have seen much of Josh Abe yet.
But that doesn’t mean people in football aren’t already taking notice.
The Guardian has included the Liverpool youngster in its Next Generation 2026 list of the 20 best young talents at Premier League clubs. The annual feature focuses on players born between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010 — essentially the first-year scholar age group.
And I think that’s another little reminder that Liverpool have something very interesting developing at the Academy.
Abe is already very highly rated
Abe only turned 16 earlier this year, yet Liverpool have already given him opportunities around the first team.
He was included in Andoni Iraola’s squad for the summer tour of the United States and even started against Wrexham during pre-season.
That alone tells you plenty.
Iraola didn’t have to take a 16-year-old winger on tour and give him minutes.
He chose to.
And Abe had already attracted serious attention before that.
Liverpool had to fight off interest from Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea to keep him at the club, with reports of offers elsewhere worth more than £50,000 a week. Abe ultimately decided that Liverpool offered the best pathway for his development.
That’s quite a statement for somebody so young.
Liverpool have believed in him for a while
Abe has been with Liverpool since he was four years old.
Last season was when things really started to accelerate.
He made his Liverpool Under-18s debut and scored eight goals in 10 U18 Premier League North appearances before his campaign was interrupted by injury.
He also became the youngest Liverpool player to appear in the UEFA Youth League when he came off the bench against MSK Zilina.
So this isn’t simply a case of a youngster suddenly appearing on everybody’s radar.
Liverpool have been watching his development for years.
And now other people are starting to catch up.
The Guardian recognition is significant
I’m always a little cautious when young players are described as the next big thing.
At 16, there is still an enormous amount of development ahead.
Players grow at different speeds, injuries happen and plenty can change between being a talented academy player and becoming a Premier League footballer.
But being selected by The Guardian for its Next Generation list is still a lovely recognition for Abe.
It means his performances have been noticed beyond Liverpool.
And considering how young he is, that’s pretty exciting.
He has already had a taste of Iraola’s first team
What interests me most is the fact that Abe has already been exposed to Iraola’s environment.
The Liverpool manager took a large group of academy players on the pre-season tour and was impressed enough with several of them to consider keeping some around the senior squad.
Abe was one of the youngsters who got that experience.
For a 16-year-old, training alongside established Liverpool players and playing in front of the manager must have been enormous.
Even if his immediate future is still with the Academy, that experience matters.
He now knows what the next level looks like.
The injury is a setback, but not the end of the story
There is one important reason why we shouldn’t expect to see Abe suddenly pushing for regular first-team football.
He recently underwent surgery on a long-standing shoulder problem and was expected to miss around three months.
That’s obviously frustrating after such an exciting breakthrough period.
But he’s still only 16.
There is absolutely no need to rush him.
If anything, Liverpool can afford to take their time.
Get him fully fit.
Get him playing regularly again.
Then see where his development takes him.
I think Liverpool have done the right thing
One thing I particularly like about this story is that Abe had options.
Other clubs were prepared to offer him huge amounts of money.
Liverpool still managed to convince him that his future was better at Anfield.
And the pathway was clearly an important part of that decision.
He’s already trained with the first team.
He’s already played in pre-season.
He’s already had Iraola watching him up close.
Now The Guardian has recognised him as one of the outstanding young talents in his age group.
That’s a pretty good start.
I’m not going to start predicting that Josh Abe is going to become a Liverpool superstar.
He’s 16.
There’s a long way to go.
But I’m certainly going to keep an eye on him.
Because Liverpool supporters have seen plenty of exciting academy players over the years, and every now and then one comes along who seems to be developing a little quicker than expected.
Josh Abe might just be one of those players.
And after Liverpool fought off some serious competition to keep him, I think we’re going to hear a lot more about him in the years ahead.
By Jamie (The Kopite View)
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