Didn't find a thread for him, time to have one.

He's been an unused substitute a few times now. I remember some time last season there was talk on here which one between him and Sterling we thought were readier to play for us. If I remember right it was pretty evenly divided and I think I for one said that Ibe actually seemed the readier player back then. He certainly put in a good performance in his debut in the final game of last season, assisted Coutinho's goal. He is a year younger than Sterling.

But I don't mean to start comparing those two now, just putting the guy in some sort of context.

I hope he will come off the bench sooner rather than later. Would be intriguing to see how he'd perform. Deserves some PL minutes, imo.

Btw, Transfermarkt says that his contract is up this summer, surely we're going to secure him to a new deal if that's the case?

good timing for the thread, didnt know that his contract will end in the summer. I think we should give him a 2 year deal to keep him, not sure if that is feasible. We will have a good player in the squad on low wages.
Well he might not be able to outperform Alberto/Moses/...., seeing Alberto and Moses got ahead of him as a substitute or start, I am wondering if he should be loaned in next summer window.

No idea about his contract issue, but I'm sure if that's the case we'll renew it asap.

Think he'll feature for us this season. Maybe not right now, but when Sterling needs a breather. Think he can definitely do a role for us.

Ibe has one thing over Sterling's debut season, and that is his body is already "physically" ready. Sterling is better mentally, and better as a footballer too. The only thing he lacks right now is end product.

Why wasn't he sent on loan???

Red Alert wrote:No idea about his contract issue, but I'm sure if that's the case we'll renew it asap.

Think he'll feature for us this season. Maybe not right now, but when Sterling needs a breather. Think he can definitely do a role for us.

Ibe has one thing over Sterling's debut season, and that is his body is already "physically" ready. Sterling is better mentally, and better as a footballer too. The only thing he lacks right now is end product.

I was thinking he could be the player to come on for Coutinho. Like in the West Brom game when we needed to score to win it (but brought on Allen instead).

Feel like he'll be next season what Sterling was for us last season. Unless we send him on loan next season and he comes back a more ready player for us in 2015-16 season.

But regardless of what we do he's only 18 and I don't see him contending for major minutes in this team until he's 20 at the least.

The Sterling situation was different because we were so shit. And we really had no competition for Sterling for that spot until Coutinho and Sturridge came in. So he had to start. Ibe however has a job of getting in a CL team.

We have no back-up to Sterling on the right, I'm sure he'll get minutes this season if needed and I won't have a problem with it if that's the case. He's pretty good for such a young age.

Art Morte wrote:

I was thinking he could be the player to come on for Coutinho. Like in the West Brom game when we needed to score to win it (but brought on Allen instead).

No chance.

Allen needs to play for us to control the game, or we'll go back to a 424 and wonder why the players in the final third can't touch the ball.

We NEED 3 in the middle to play. Unfortunately, we lack depth there and have an injury crisis in the middle of the park, which is leading us to play a player that's much more suited on the left hand side cutting in, in a central position and it's affecting his game. Allen needs to come back ASAP.

inb4 Cou played well against Everton so must be good for that role

Depends on the games and the situation in them. We had two in the middle against Everton. And when we're chasing a goal in the final 15 minutes it's different, too. I wouldn't start Ibe over Allen, I've suggested dropping Coutinho for Allen in the starting XI a few times already, to get that balance and control. But when it's the last 15 minutes against a weak West Brom side and the pace of the game picks up for that final push, that's when, I believe, bringing on Ibe for / instead of Allen would actually benefit us more.

We had three in the middle against Everton.

It's not different. Look at the game against Oldham in the FA cup last season. 4-2-4 doesn't work. Look at the 4-2-4 we played in the second half of Cardiff this season.

Allen for Coutinho makes sense, I can agree with you there.

Ibe wouldn't have affected the West Brom in any way. We already had the pace of Sterling (who was MOTM) and Sturridge, and they were both ineffective. We couldn't get the ball at their feet. Coutinho's passing was off, and couldn't link it the final third.

Transfer news: Birmingham sign Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe on loan

Birmingham have confirmed the arrival of promising Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe on a loan deal that runs until the end of the season.

The 18-year-old trained with the Blues for the first time on Friday and goes straight into the squad for Saturday's Sky Bet Championship clash with Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Ibe, born in Bermondsey, was spotted by Liverpool scouts while playing for the Wycombe Wanderers Academy - and signed for the Anfield giants in December 2011. He quickly rose through the Reds' youth ranks and made his Premier League debut against QPR on the final day of the 2012/13 campaign shortly before winning England honours at U19 level.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/9177066/transfer-news-birmingham-sign-liverpool-winger-jordon-ibe-on-loan

HUGE opportunity for him, and I think he'll tear up the Championship.

Jack Sear ‏@JackSear 5m
Birmingham manager Lee Clark says he wants to get Ibe in their starting XI as quickly as possible.

Lee Clark is the same guy that took Martin Kelly on loan at Huddersfield Town.

Ibe, I have high hopes for him, I hope that he gets as much experience as possible, we are going to need all this talent in next season

Robinson was sent off for bringing down Ibe (for a professional foul, it wasn't a dirty challenge or anything). Already helping Birmingham.

Ibe MOTM against Shamrock by far.
Ibe MOTM in the 2nd half against Brondby.

He's going to be very useful in the minutes he gets. Love this guy, he's definitely following Raheem's footsteps.

This guy/kid needs some serious minutes this season.

seems unlikely with our transfers till now. . .   

If he goes out on loan not some shitty league 1 side...he should either go to an EPL club, may be we can send him to Southampton to make Lovren move easier. Or send to him to Swans under Monk.

Who knows BR might keep him under his own watch so that he can be developed with the senior players here, just cant see him getting enought minutes that he needs at this age.

I hope we keep him. I think he's at a point where BR needs to do the developing himself. I don't trust some other club. They'll probably ruin him.

I'm torn on Ibe. On the one hand, I think he might be a quality option to have with the fixture congestion that accompanies a return to the Champions League. On the other, he would likely benefit more from regular, first -team football.

Ideally, it might be worthwhile to keep him at LFC until January, letting him train with the first-team and giving him involvement in cups and the odd sub appearance. Then, in January, send him out on loan to one of the lower-half premier league squads. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in football. If someone comes in with a loan offer and is willing to play him regularly, it might be best to let him go for the season.

I'm with DTOR.

Spoiler:

I am so happy that Sterling and Ibe are little different each other. We will have very special talents in few years

If his finishing/shooting wasn't so shit, I would have wanted to see him rotate with Sturridge.

As things stands, I want Rodgers to give him equal chance as Raheem & Markovic. Meaning, the trio will compete for the two starting wide positions.

I searched with "Ibe" and it gave no results, didn't we have any thread for him?

Anyway, time to take a look at this guy, he's turning 19 soon and is starting to have quite the good season with Derby: Scored yesterday to make it 4 goals in 8 starts and 5 substitute appearances for Derby in the Championship. Who, by the way, sit at the top of the table after 18 games.


The big question is, what's his Liverpool future? He's talented, he's starting to rip up the Championship, he's only turning 19... A year or two ago we had a thread comparing him and Sterling and I think most people were saying they thought Ibe looked readier back then.

Now, we spent some 20m on Markovic last summer, who is almost 2 years older than Ibe, and, let's face it, has been quite the big disappointment so far. Yet I just fear that Markovic's price tag may put him ahead of Ibe in the pecking order next summer when our manager is looking who has a place in the squad and who doesn't. There's Lallana, too, with a big price tag and more experience and Sterling and Coutinho should be ahead of Ibe anyway at this point.

So, what do you think will be Ibe's Liverpool future? What would you like it to be?

If he goes on to have a strong season for Derby - as is looking likely - I think he should be in our team for the 2015-16 season. But I'm just afraid that he won't be competing only against other players' ability, but their price tags and reputation as well.