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It’s no surprise that Borussia Mönchengladbach are trying to lure Rhian Brewster away from Liverpool with the promise of first-team football.

Their sporting director Max Eberl spoke earlier this season about the number-crunching that goes on at the Bundesliga club as they study the best young talent across Europe.

“We follow every English national game — under-16, under-17 and so on — and we know every top player in England,” he told the Times.

“They develop great players, but normally the player has no chance to be in the first XI or even the first 18 of a Premier League team. That age group (born in) 2000 in England, you could take every player. It’s unbelievable.”

It’s a resource that Bundesliga clubs are increasingly trying to tap into. Most striking was the £10million deal that saw Manchester City youngster Jadon Sancho sign for Borussia Dortmund last summer, while West Ham teenager Reece Oxford has spent this season on loan at Mönchengladbach.

“We want to be able to say: ‘We can be the next step for you’,” Eberl added. “Reece and Jadon could be the example for the next guys. A lot of English agents called us and said: ‘Hey, our player wants to come and play in the Bundesliga’. I feel that they begin to open their eyes away from the Premier League.”

The attraction for Mönchengladbach is clear. Brewster, who won the Golden Boot at last October’s Under-17 World Cup, is one of the most exciting young players in English football. His reluctance to sign a professional contract with Liverpool has alerted a host of European clubs.

However, Brewster and his representatives would be wise to consider what he would be giving up if he ends his three-year association with the Reds.

For a start, unlike his England team-mate Sancho at Man City, there is a clear pathway through to the first-team for Brewster at Liverpool. He doesn't need to go to Germany to find one.

Jurgen Klopp isn’t one of those managers who stockpiles senior players and just pays lip service to youth development. He’s passionate about helping youngsters fulfil their potential and is willing to put his faith in them.

(Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Brewster should be looking at the meteoric rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold and taking inspiration from his journey. The 19-year-old full-back has clocked up 31 appearances for the Reds so far this season.

A year after arriving from Chelsea where he never got a chance to shine, Dominic Solanke has now been involved in 26 matches for the Reds this term and is a full England international. Joe Gomez is another 20-year-old whose exciting development under Klopp saw his earn a first senior cap before injury struck.

Teenagers Curtis Jones, Conor Masterson and Rafa Camacho have all been promoted to the first-team squad, while fellow Academy youngsters Liam Millar, Adam Lewis, Nat Phillips and Herbie Kane have also spent time training at Melwood.

If Brewster’s season hadn’t been cruelly ended by an ankle injury in January, it’s more than likely that he would have made his Liverpool debut by now.

Klopp has left Brewster in no doubt about how highly he regards him. The manager insisted he did his rehab at Melwood rather than Kirkby so he could feel part of the senior set-up.

When reports in Germany back in March suggested that Liverpool were looking to clinch a club record £90million deal for RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, Anfield officials were adamant that the speculation was unfounded .

(Image: Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

The message was clear: Klopp wasn’t looking to sign a centre-forward this summer because he intended to promote Brewster to compete with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Solanke and Danny Ings in 2018/19.

If Brewster was to leave then Liverpool would have to reassess their transfer plans and buying another striker would have to be viewed as a priority.

Daniel Sturridge will be sold following his loan spell at West Brom, while Klopp has yet to make a decision on Divock Origi, who has endured a disappointing season with Wolfsburg.

Maybe Brewster looks at how robust Firmino is and can’t see a way past him. After all no Liverpool player has made more appearances than the classy Brazilian this term.

However, with the Reds competing on four fronts next season Brewster will get opportunities.

Firmino will miss the early stages of pre-season following the World Cup and that No 9 shirt will be up for grabs.

Even if he did head for the Bundesliga there are no guarantees that he would be playing every week. Oxford has started five league matches for Mönchengladbach and Sancho has only clocked up one more than that for Dortmund.

Brewster only turned 18 last month. He doesn't need to be in such a hurry.

He's still learning his trade and he's in the perfect place to continue his development under Klopp.

Leaving Liverpool at this stage would make little sense.