Having enjoyed his first taste of senior football with Liverpool last season, Conor Bradley is currently thriving on loan at Bolton Wanderers.
Joining the League One side in June, the 19-year-old is already a firm fan favourite and has wasted no time in making an impact at the University of Bolton Stadium. Playing six times in the opening month of the season for Ian Evatt’s side, where he is utilised as a right wing-back as part of a five-man defence, he’s returned two goals and two assists, including a spectacular long-range effort against Salford City.
Essentially just picking up where he left off with Barry Lewtas’ Under-23s at the Reds’ Academy last year, from the outside looking in it has been a seamless adjustment for Bradley. Yet the Northern Ireland international admits his first taste of regular senior football has been an eye-opening experience.
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“It’s been a good test so far. There has been some good games we’ve had and some tough games, and I’m really enjoying it,” he told the ECHO in an exclusive interview after Bolton’s League Cup clash with Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa. “It’s my first time out on loan so it was hard at the start to gel with the group but I feel like I’m doing that now and it’s been a good start to the season.
“I wouldn’t say it’s been easy, it’s been quite difficult to be honest, dealing with the men’s game and how difficult it is. But I knew it was going to be difficult playing against men every week and the physical things that are asked of you.
“It’s not easy playing every Saturday and Tuesday, it’s not something I was used to playing with the Under-23s so that has been quite difficult for me. I knew it would be very tough physically.
“I knew it would be a step-up from Under-23s and a step-up playing every Saturday/Tuesday. A big step up. The recovery and going again but I feel like I’ve dealt with it well and adapted well so far.
“I just want to keep on doing that and kick on from there, keep trying to get as many goals and assists as I can and help the team as best as I can.”
Bolton were first interested in signing Bradley on loan back in January, only to be knocked back by Liverpool. However, the Whites wasted no time in reigniting their interest once it became clear the teenager would be available on a temporary basis.
“I knew that Bolton were interested quite a bit ago,” Bradley admitted. “It’s always nice when the manager wants you in and that he likes you. It makes it that little bit easier for you and the manager has been great with me since I came. I couldn’t ask anything more from him.
“It was probably the back-end of last season, when we were discussing going out on loan with Liverpool. We just wanted to do what was best for me. What the club felt and what I felt was best for my development.
“We all thought the best thing was for me to go out on loan. We’ve done that and hopefully it goes well throughout the season.”
While Bradley might be out of sight at Bolton, he most definitely isn’t out of mind. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp continues to regularly check in on the defender and send him messages around matches.
Meanwhile, Reds staff continue to keep in contact to ensure he is as happy and settled as possible out on loan. As a result, it’s safe to say his phone was rather busy after the 19-year-old scored his first professional goal against Gary Neville’s Salford City!
“I spoke a little bit with the manager (Klopp) in the summer about it (going out on loan),” Bradley revealed. “He told me to go and enjoy it and play as many games as I can. Go and do as well as you can.
“He’s been keeping in touch, wishing me luck for the games and gives me a well done. It’s nice that he’s staying in contact even though I’m out on loan.
“It’s quite important that the club have still stayed in contact and made sure I was alright with the loan. It’s my first time moving out and stuff like that.
“The club have been brilliant with that to be fair, they’re always checking in on me. Some people come up to see me as well to make sure I’m okay. Liverpool have been brilliant with that.”
He chuckled: “I had a couple of messages from quite a few of the staff and players (after scoring against Salford). It’s always good to know they’re keeping an eye on you, even though you’re out on loan, so that was good.
“It just came to me and I don’t know, I thought I’d just hit it and it flew into the top corner. I was buzzing. That’s what the manager wants me to do, he wants me to get forward, have shots and create chances. I’m just trying to do what he says and bring all that into my game.”
Victory over Salford in the first round of the League Cup set up a second-round clash with Premier League opposition in Aston Villa. And even though a harsh 4-1 defeat ensured Bradley won’t get to enjoy a repeat of his involvement in Liverpool’s successful cup run last year, he was proud of Bolton’s performance as he got to test himself against the likes of former Reds playmaker Philippe Coutinho, while his focus is back on League One and what hopefully be a successful promotion push come May.
“It was a brilliant experience playing against some of my childhood heroes,” he said. “It was a brilliant experience and I loved every minute of it.
“I felt like we did really well for the first 50 minutes but then probably just tired out a bit at the end. But I was really proud of what the boys did against Aston Villa.
“Our aim as a club is to hopefully get promotion this year. Push for the play-off places, and even hopefully get into the automatic promotion places. We’ll be looking to get promotion this year and I’ll be looking to get as many games, goals and assists as I can.”
When playing for Liverpool last season, Bradley’s five senior appearances all came at right-back after the Reds earmarked him as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s understudy at the start of the campaign. Yet at Bolton he is being utilised further forward as a wing-back.
And while it might not be a role he had much experience in back with Liverpool, the Northern Irishman is more than confident further forward after becoming the latest highly-talented full-back to emerge from the Reds’ academy.
“It’s good, I get to play more of an attacking role here at Bolton because we play with a three or a five, whatever you want to call it,” he said. “I’m getting into loads of attacking positions and able to get into the box. I’m loving it.
“It’s the way the gaffer wants you to play at Liverpool too, he wants you to be attacking from the full-back area. It was nice when I got the assist vs Shrewsbury, to just show that I can attack and defend in that full-back position.
“There have been a couple of good full-backs ahead of me in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Neco Williams (at Liverpool). It’s just been about taking bits from their game and trying to put it into mine. The training you get with the first team at Liverpool is unbelievable.
“You’re playing against some world class players day in, day out. Luis Diaz is just electric. You can just never guess which way he’s going to go. He can go both ways and always has a bit of magic up his sleeve.
“That experience will just do you the world of good, learning off people like Trent and Robbo. They’ll always help you so training with the first team at Liverpool is always good for you. I keep working hard every day and hopefully good things will come off that.”
Bradley admits he didn’t expect to make a senior breakthrough at Liverpool last season, though he wasn’t surprised by the Reds’ signing of fellow right-back Calvin Ramsay this summer. But he has not been disheartened by such recruitment as he looks to build on his formative year at Anfield and bright start to life at Bolton.
“Liverpool is a massive club. It’s always going to be tough and they’re always going to be buying new players in,” he said. “But it’s healthy competition. It pushes you on and you want to do better. Competition is very healthy for a club.
“Last season was something I would never have expected. It was unbelievable. Playing at the San Siro has to be the highlight. Even though it was only a couple of minutes, it was unbelievable and something I’ll never forget.
“Hopefully I can keep going this season, keep improving and getting better and hopefully bigger things will come.”
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