Liverpool centre back Andre Wisdom was given his first cap by Stuart Pearce for England U21s 4-1 victory over Israel, indicating the great strides that the 18 year old is making.
His talent was noticed from a young age and he was taken from local junior football by Bradford City’s youth coach Peter Horne, The defender quickly attracted attention from big Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, and at the age of just 14, the Reds took the youngster into the Academy at Kirkby, after paying compensation to Bradford. Horne said of the player at the time:
“He has just progressed all the time he’s been with us. We’ve played him a year up all the time because of his ability. He was playing with the under-15s this season. We’re very pleased with how far he’s come.”
In the Academy, Wisdom made very quick progress, and he was an important part of Liverpool’s run to the FA Youth Cup final in 2009 at the age of just 15, playing mostly with players 2 years his senior. The feat is a tribute to his maturity as a footballer as well as his evident physical strength.
For a player who was playing in the under 18s while only 15, it shows he was already developed physically to cope with the demands and can cope defending against more experienced opponents. It is a maturity which is demonstrated by the array of abilities he possesses.
With good aerial ability, he heads the ball competently, using his height, physical strength and general athleticism. Combined with this, he has very good pace to keep up with opposition attackers and for such a young player, he also has good communication and leadership skills, and is a very vocal team mate on the pitch. Such communication combines well with good organisation skills, making him astute tactically and to be able to read the game which is the hall mark of any aspiring centre back.
Furthermore he is a very capable footballer on the ball and has the ability to pick out a pass. Like all young players he may sometimes try to overcomplicate things but he will learn to do the basics, and to do them well. The great variety of attributes he has means he has been utilised in the number of positions including central midfield, right back as well as in the centre of defence.
To look at his primary strengths though, strength, heading ability, aerial dominance and pace, it is apparent that he could well be a very talented centre back of the future. This is where he has played for both Liverpool and England in the last couple of seasons. After winning the 2008 Victory Shield with the England U16s, he went to the European Under 17 Championships in 2010 with England and was first choice centre half as the Three Lions got to the final. In the final against Spain, Wisdom scored at both ends in the 2-1 victory helping the team to an important triumph.
The youngster did suffer with injuries last term though and was out for three and half months. Still, he came back stronger than ever, captaining the Liverpool’s reserves and also making his debut for England U19s, captaining the side for a time after Jonjo Shelvey was substituted. With Kenny Dalglish as manager at Liverpool, Wisdom found himself included on the bench a number of times and was given a run out in pre-season against Guangdong. His subsequent first cap for the England U21s shows that Wisdom is progressing at some pace, and don’t be surprised to see him make his competitive debut for the Reds sometime during this season.
Written by David Tully for Live4Liverpool.com. Follow us on twitter @live4Liverpool or like us on Facebook
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I still think everton produce better players from their youth system. seems like all talented scousers these days are everton fans. the likes of gosling, rodwell, rooney, vaughn, hope,baines and the very impressive ross barkley, who unfortunately will go to man utd and become a world class midfielder. if these youngsters came through LFCs academy, we be claiming it to be the best academy in the world.
YNWA
Maybe Everton have had more success in recent times, but how have they performed as a result? Much harder to break into the Liverpool squad for sure. Baines and Gosling were bought in though by the way…..
well said slim. lets clear up the facts though. gosling did not come through evertons academy (and did not support everton). baines did not come through evertons academy (and was a liverpool fan). rodwell was at liverpools academy until 16. vaughen is rubbish hence why he is no longer at everton. rooney is the only proper player to come through. to say barkley will be world class is a bit premature. martin kelly, jack robinson, john flanagan, jay spearing, all better than the last great everton hope that was jose baxter. consider yourself told son.
As good as Andre Wisdom is, he’ll have to leave Liverpool to get a first team place.
The simple reason is that Kenny Dalglish doesn’t buy Black Players or promote them.
The only Black Player he ever bought was John Barnes.
Look at his purchases at Blackburn and Newcastle. none were Black.