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Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno will get their chance at Anfield this season – but must grasp the opportunity when it arrives.

That was the message from Brendan Rodgers as he assessed the futures of two players who arrived for large fees of £20m and £12m respectively last year but who have failed to progress as had been hoped.

Spaniard Moreno has found himself ousted from the left back position by an 18-year-old arrival from Charlton in the shape of Joe Gomez while Serbian Markovic has become ever more peripheral and is seemingly ridden with self doubt and crippling nerves every time he steps on the pitch.

Rodgers told his Saturday morning press conference: “Both players are very talented, clearly it’s why they’ve come to here (Liverpool).

“Maybe for the first time in their footballing careers, especially being so young, they maybe find themselves not being a regular.

“They know very well with the conversations we’ve had that it’s a long season, a tough season and they’ll certainly be needed.

“It’s just about when the opportunity comes that you take that opportunity and keep yourself in the team. There’s no player here who hasn’t been told that. They’re fighting and working well and when the opportunity comes to play then I’m sure they’ll both be ready.”

Moreno’s path to return to the first team looks an easier one than Markovic’s, with Rodgers admitting that game time for Gomez may have to be managed at some stage and confirming he sees him very much as a centre half of the future.

The Northern Irishman said: “I think it’s about assessing and managing where he’s at (Gomez).

“He’d obviously played games and was managed very, very well at Charlton, had 16 starts. He’s come into here and I wanted to assess, like I do with all the players but especially the younger ones, where his path lay. Does he need a loan or does he need to stay here? And very quickly he showed me he can be a really important member of our squad.

I spoke to Jon Walters and thanked him for giving Gomez that experience

“He can play in a few positions, centre half being his main one, but he’s got the flexibility and the quality to play at full-back.

“He’s definitely a player that will add great value to our squad, like you saw last week, against a really tough opponent.”

Rodgers revealed how he has spoken to that opponent, Stoke’s Jonathan Walters, to ‘thank him’ for giving Gomez such a challenge in his first Premeir League start.

“For a young player of 18 years of age, to make his Premier League debut away at Stoke against an outstanding player in Jonathan Walters, with the experience that he has, and to cope as well as he did.

“I spoke to Jonathan Walters after the game and thanked him for giving him that experience! He spoke well of him as well and knew he was a tough opponent to play against.

“He’s 18 but what struck me when I first met him was his maturity, he’s a very humble boy, he recognises the opportunity.

“When you look when he was 14 or 15 he had the chance to leave Charltoin but he wanted to stay, he felt there was the chance to get into the first team and he stayed and did exactly that. In the summer he had a choice to make with a number of high profile clubs wanting him but he felt that the best place for him to develop as a player was at Liverpool.

“He’s done that, got into the team. I’m sure there will be moments along the way when we need to manage him.

"At the moment he’s enjoying it but he knows there’s a lot to learn.”