Kaide Gordon has opened up on a 'crazy' seven days at Liverpool and revealed what Jurgen Klopp told him ahead of his Premier League debut.
Gordon kicked-off a memorable week by bagging his first Reds senior goal when he equalised at the Kop end against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup.
The seven-time winners, who eventually won the tie 4-1, were shocked by Daniel Udoh's opener for the visitors before Gordon restored parity with a composed finish.
A place among the substitutes was then secured for the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final with Arsenal four days later as Jurgen Klopp’s side were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw.
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And then a memorable seven days were capped off when Gordon came off the bench to make his Premier League bow in his side’s 3-0 win over Brentford.
The 17-year-old became Liverpool's fourth-youngster player to feature in a league match when he came on as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining.
“It’s been crazy, the last week or so,” the youngster told Liverpoolfc.com when reflecting on his week. “I didn’t really expect it all to come around so fast, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Before he continued: “I didn’t really know how to celebrate because it was to make it 1-1 in the game, so I was in two minds.
“I thought, ‘It’s my first goal but it’s [only] 1-1’ so I thought, ‘Just get back in’ but it was really good. After the game, everybody, my family, were really happy for me and I really enjoyed it.
“Everyone was there: my mum, my brothers, my uncles… everyone was at the game. They were really proud.
“To be fair, I didn’t know if it went in or not because someone was in front of me so I had to look back to see if it went in… but as soon as I realised it had, I was really happy.”
Gordon missed a golden chance to open his Premier League account after being put through on goal, but his effort was straight at Alvaro Fernandez in the Brentford goal.
“Yeah, it was really a big moment for me,” he said on his Premier League debut. “My first Premier League game, 10 minutes, and so I wanted to show what I can do.
“Robbo and Hendo had a big influence… as soon as I came on the pitch, they were encouraging me, telling me to stay focused, do what you’ve got to do, that’s why you’re here.
“I don’t even know what I’d have done if it had gone in! I didn’t even expect it to come around, but as soon as Taki had the ball I thought I’d make the run. Unfortunately, I didn’t score.”
The teenager joined the club from Derby County in February 2021 for an initial £1m fee, rising to a potential £3m, depending on various bonuses, and he has received plenty of message from those at his former club over the past week.
“It wouldn’t stop… it wouldn’t stop. I was getting messages from lots of people; people from Derby were messaging me to say well done and that I’d come so far,” Gordon reflected on the messages he had received.
“Some of the players were messaging me to say well done as well. The family, everyone, was messaging me to say how proud they were.”
A trademark hug from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp followed the final whistle for Gordon at Anfield last Sunday, and the England youth international has revealed what the German told him as he prepared to enter the fray.
“I think he was just saying well done. I said thank you to him after the Norwich game [in September] because he gave me the chance,” he revealed.
“He’s helped me a lot. He gave me the chance to play and show what I can do. He thinks I have ability and I’m just happy about that.
“‘Just work hard,’ was the main thing he said when I was coming on. Just work hard, track back, get forward and do what I normally do because that’s why I’m here, so that helped me.”
Before Gordon added on the message he received from Trent Alexander-Arnold after Sunday's win, saying: “That was really good for me.
“Trent obviously has come from the Academy and has got to where he is now. We get along really well. It was really good for me to see.”
