Liverpool may have found their next Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Thiago

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp may have stumbled across his long-term replacements for Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara on Wednesday night. The Reds were taken all the way to a penalty shootout by League One Derby County but there were plenty of positives to take, not least from their up-and-coming contingent. The Reds were predictably dominant at Anfield in terms of shots, shots on target and possession. Derby put up a spirited fight, however, and Liverpool required Caoimhin Kelleher’s heroics in the penalty shootout to prevail 3-2.Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Thiago were all left out of the matchday squad altogether for the Carabao Cup third-round tie, along with a host of other first-team regulars. In being bold with his team selection, Klopp may well have confirmed that he already has the long-term replacements for the aforementioned trio on his books. Calvin Ramsay was one of only three permanent signings for Liverpool during the summer, and he was granted his first senior start for the club against the Rams. JUST IN: Romelu Lukaku fit for Belgium World Cup squad as Arsenal flop and Liverpool icon cut Liverpool rested Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Thiago against Derby (Image: GETTY)Joe Gomez has often played back-up to Alexander-Arnold at right-back this term but Ramsay did his chances of earning a more prominent squad role no harm whatsoever. The 19-year-old was physically up to the challenge and brave going forward as he played the full 120 minutes on Merseyside. Usurping Alexander-Arnold for good appears some way off yet, but Klopp surely won’t be afraid to throw the former Aberdeen prospect in at the deep end when the time comes. The same can be said for midfielder Stefan Bajcetic, who is only a matter of weeks past his 18th birthday. DON’T MISS…Liverpool ‘assessing Isaksen move’ as Lijnders makes ‘special’ claimEndrick’s stance on joining Chelsea, Real Madrid or PSGMan City boss Pep Guardiola sheds new light on Erling Haaland injury Ben Doak impressed during his Liverpool cameo against Derby (Image: GETTY)”[Doak’s] instructions were easy: do what you do all the time,” said Klopp after the final whistle. “He’s really a lively boy, a smart player, good dribbler, fast, can use both legs. He’s good! It was nice to watch, eh? It was really nice to watch him come in and immediately a lot of things are obviously natural to him, which is really helpful.”I’m pretty sure his family was here tonight. I can remember when I saw the family at the AXA when we signed the boy, how excited everybody was. And now having that night, it’s the next step. It’s cool, he showed up, obviously.”