Luca Stephenson has opened up about his decision to leave Liverpool on a permanent basis
Luca Stephenson and Darwin Nunez applaud the fans following the pre-season friendly football match between Preston North End and Liverpool at Deepdale Stadium in Preston(Image: AFP)
Luca Stephenson believes he had little choice but to leave Liverpool permanently this summer after spending the past three seasons out on loan. The 22-year-old joined Bolton Wanderers in a £750,000 deal at the start of last month, and is poised to make his debut for the Whites in this weekend’s Carabao Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday.
The versatile defender impressed when featuring in two pre-season campaigns under former Reds head coach Arne Slot, and earned plenty of plaudits during temporary stints away at Barrow and Dundee United.
But with a first team breakthrough at Liverpool considered unlikely, Stephenson conceded he had to be ‘honest’ with himself and knew it was the right time to move on.
“I have racked up more than 100 games now but they have all been on loan,” he said, as quoted by the Bolton News. “This is a permanent club, so it’s a little bit different.
“Making my first permanent move and getting a lengthy contract somewhere other than Liverpool and going into a men’s dressing room rather than being in a 21’s dressing room.
“It was a straightforward decision, but it’s something I still had to think about. It’s always difficult coming into a new club and meeting hundreds of new people, but obviously knowing a couple of the boys that were already here has helped since that came in, so it’s been good.
“I just like playing games. I love playing games, I love playing men’s footy.
“Was I going to get that at Liverpool? The answer is probably no. That’s just the honest reality of it.
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“Would I have got as many games as I would have wanted playing for Liverpool? Probably not.
“I just want to play games, I want to play week in, week out. I want to go and express myself in front of big crowds and big games, which we’re going to get this year in the Championship.
“So, I jumped at the opportunity.”
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