Conor Bradley's 'that's me done at Liverpool' comment speaks volumes as green light given

Conor Bradley has transformed from doubting his Liverpool prospects to becoming the leading candidate to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold as the club's first-choice right-back. Despite penning a fresh four-year deal in May, Bradley's pathway to regular football appeared uncertain when Arne Slot brought in Jeremie Frimpong.

Subsequently, with neither player cementing their place in the right-back position, Slot turned to Dominik Szoboszlai for the role, seemingly pushing Bradley down to third in the pecking order. This wasn't Bradley's first experience of uncertainty at Anfield. During the summer of 2022, he was sent out on loan to Bolton Wanderers.

Questioning whether his long-term prospects lay at the club, he reflected last year: "They told me that they wouldn't forget about me when I was out on loan.

"But at the time, you don't really believe it. You think 'A loan, that's sort of me done here.' But you have to keep working hard. I played around 50 games for Bolton and it was the best thing for me at that time. It turned me into what I am now, it changed me from a boy into a man.

"I'm so grateful for the opportunity Bolton gave me to go and play so many games there. It got me ready for coming back at Liverpool and giving it my best shot."

Bradley may well have experienced comparable doubts during the early stages of this campaign, but the 22-year-old has demonstrated his credentials against elite opposition, including Real Madrid and Manchester City, facing off against Vinicius Junior and an in-form Jeremy Doku.

He stood out as one of the team's strongest performers during the 3-0 loss at the Etihad, earning recognition from Pep Guardiola, who had been alerted to his abilities by assistant Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp's previous right-hand man at Anfield.

The City head coach said: "Conor, the right-back, I was really, really impressed with. Pep Lijnders said he could do everything. I know the game against Madrid how good he was against Vinicius. And Jeremy [Doku] handled it, aggressive with and without the ball. He played an outstanding game."

Bradley is hoping his recent form has done enough to secure his position in Slot's starting lineup after the international fixtures. His immediate focus, however, is on Northern Ireland's vital World Cup qualifying matches away to Slovakia on Friday and at home against Luxembourg on Monday.

Victory in both encounters would leave Michael O'Neill's squad well-positioned to claim a play-off berth and potentially more should group leaders Germany falter.