Bobby Duncan’s career has ultimately not gone to plan since he left Liverpool in the summer of 2019.
The 21-year-old, who is the cousin of Steven Gerrard, had only joined the Reds 12 months earlier and enjoyed an impressive year in the club’s youth ranks after joining from Man City. He’d score 25 goals and record eight assists from 33 appearances for the Under-18s and Under-19s, helping Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup along the way.
Such form saw him handed an Under-21s debut too, while he’d link up with Jurgen Klopp ’s first team for pre-season the same summer as his eventual departure - even scoring in a 6-0 pre-season victory over Tranmere Rovers.
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Yet weeks later he was sold to Fiorentina, leaving in a £1.8m deal with a 20% sell-on clause included. That clause would never be activated.
His switch was ultimately made all the more controversial by his now former agent Saif Rubie, who would level accusations at the club which prompted a fierce response from Liverpool as they vocalised their disappointment in an official statement.
The agent had made Duncan’s apparent desire to leave Liverpool public in an social media post, where he took a swipe at then sporting director Michael Edwards and spoke of "all the stress the club has put [Bobby] under" after the Reds turned down an initial approach from Fiorentina.
Duncan would fail to make an impact with the Serie A side and returned to England with Derby County in 2020, making just one senior appearance for the Rams in the FA Cup after their first team squad was struck down by an outbreak of Covid-19. Meanwhile, the 21-year-old was on the move again earlier this year as he signed for Spanish third tier side Real Balompedica Linense.
The youngster actually dumped Rubie as his agent not long after leaving Liverpool, and signed up with German SportsTotal agency instead. And he would hit out at his former advisor earlier this year following an interview with TalkSPORT.
Rubie claimed on TalkSPORT that he actually advised Duncan to remain at Liverpool and not force a move away. The striker would take to Twitter to rubbish such claims.
“You and I both know the truth,” Duncan wrote. “I didn’t have a decision nor say.
“Not once have I spoken upon this top[ic] in '4 years' as it’s been my main priority to get my career back on track. But, yet you think you have the right to mention my name on a live radio show.
“The truth will be told by myself when the time is right. And lastly, just to clarify, there was no advising given as you point blank made your mind up, publicly. And by then the damage had been done.”
Since then, Duncan has kept his head down as he indeed looks to get his career back on track. And he has made some notable steps in recent weeks.
While the striker did not feature in the Real Balompedica Linense matchday squad during the opening months of the season, he was named as an unused substitute for four out of five matches between October 29 and December 4.
He’d then make his debut earlier this month, coming off the bench away at Algeciras CF on December 7 as Linense fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat. “Step by step little by little….” he would tweet a couple of days after his maiden appearance.
A first start would follow for Duncan, as a number 10 behind the main striker, over the weekend as the Spanish outfit hosted Unionistas CF. But alas, it didn’t go to plan for reasons beyond the striker’s control as heavy rainfall saw the game abandoned inside 20 minutes.
The abandoned game over the weekend leaves Linense just one place above the relegation zone, having finished mid-table last season. They are also among the lowest scorers in Spain's third tier with just 12 goals from 15 outings this season.
Back in action on December 17 with a match against Rayo Majadahonda, Duncan will hope to retain his starting berth and start firing the goals to help steer Linense away from the drop-zone as he looks to reignite his career.
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