IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jordon Ibe, the quick Liverpool winger billed as the next Raheem Sterling and who shares Daniel Sturridge's moves on the dance floor
By IN THE SPOTLIGHT
PUBLISHED: 11:38, 26 May 2014 | UPDATED: 14:26, 26 May 2014
Jordon Ibe's hat-trick helped England Under 19s to a thumping 6-0 win over Montenegro on Saturday, ensuring the perfect start to their crucial European Championship qualifiers.
The 18-year-old has clearly been inspired in the art of goalscoring by clubmate Daniel Sturridge - and in the art of celebrating too.
He performed Sturridge's trademark dance after scoring and earned himself a cheeky Instagram mention from the senior England striker.
So who is this guy I'm hearing rumours about?
Name: Jordon Ibe
Club: Liverpool
Age: 18
Position: Winger
I'm going to need more than that...
As lightning streaked across the skies above the Banks's Stadium in Walsall on Saturday afternoon, Jordon Ibe was in storming form for England.
The torrential Midlands rain could have disrupted the Young Lions' performance in the first of three crucial qualifiers for July's European Championship, but they had far too much for Montenegro and ran out 6-0 winners.
Ibe's first was a little fortuitous, a low shot that took a wicked deflection to wrongfoot the keeper, but his second, a calm finish from a left-wing cross, and third, a well-taken poked finish, once again showed his class.
They took the 18-year-old's England Under 19 goalscoring record to four in five matches and doubtless earned him a starting berth in Noel Blake's team for the remaining qualifiers with Scotland on Monday night and Ukraine on Thursday.
Firing England to the Euro finals in Hungary would be the perfect way to round off another encouraging year for Ibe, who played a role in helping keep Birmingham City in the Championship during a loan spell and continued his gradual integration into the Liverpool senior squad.
He has certainly caught the eye of Daniel Sturridge, who posed a picture of the youngster mimicking his dance routine celebration after scoring against Montenegro.
Sturridge wrote: 'He's the future of lfc and England. Proud to hear he banged a hat trick for u19s. Repped my dance too!! Stay focused lil bro.'
Liverpool fans have been excited about Ibe for some time, having seen his electrifying performances for the youth team and Under 21s over the last couple of years.
With younger charges Sturridge and Raheem Sterling integral parts of a season that saw Liverpool come within a whisker of their first league title in 24 years, Ibe could be the next prodigy to be brought through by Brendan Rodgers, who has great faith in youth.
Ibe certainly gave his manager food for thought when he turned in a man-of-the-match performance in the 4-0 win over Irish side Shamrock Rovers in Dublin shortly after the end of the season.
It wasn't his first-team debut by any means - that came against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2012-2013 campaign - but it reinforced his potential.
So why all the fuss?
Ibe hails from Bermondsey in south London, and spent four years with the Charlton Athletic kids before joining Wycombe Wanderers at the age of 12. Paul Lambert was in charge at Adams Park at the time.
His rise was spectacular and Ibe made his debut for Wycombe's first team aged just 15 years and 244 days when he came off the bench during extra time in a League Cup win over Colchester United in August 2011.
On October 15 that year, he became Wycombe's youngest ever Football League debutant when he came on in the last minute of a game with Hartlepool United.
Later that month he set another record, becoming the club's youngest Football League goalscorer when he netted in a 2-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.
Then manager Gary Waddock said at the time: 'He is 15 and to do that on your debut tells you the quality the lad has got. We just want to make sure he goes on and fulfils that potential. He could play at the highest level.'
Liverpool obviously agreed and Ibe was snapped up for around £500,000 when he turned 16 in December 2011. He went straight into the Under 18 squad at Anfield and worked under Academy Director Frank McParland.
When appointed as manager in the summer of 2012, Rodgers wanted to run the rule over the club's young stars and took Ibe on the pre-season tour of North America.
He started Rodgers' first game in charge - a 1-1 draw with Toronto - playing 45 minutes as Liverpool fielded a different team in each half.
The 2012-2013 season was spent with the youth team - who reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup before losing to Chelsea - and the Under 21s, where he made 12 appearances and scored one goal.
He scored an outstanding solo goal in the Youth Cup quarter-final win over Leeds, collecting the ball midway inside his own half and running all the way to just outside the six-yard box before slotting home.
But that was apparently an exception to the rule - Ibe revealed that Under 21 manager Alex Inglethorpe had been trying to turn him into Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ibe said: 'Twenty of Ronaldo's goals last season were one touch finishes at the back post. He's been helping me to get within the frame of the goal and in the six-yard box.'
After making the bench for the Premier League match against Southampton, Ibe made his senior debut on the final day against QPR at Anfield.
At 17 years and 162 days, Ibe was the fourth youngest player to make his debut for Liverpool behind Jack Robinson, Raheem Sterling and Michael Owen.
Putting in a positive display, Ibe contributed the assist for Philippe Coutinho to score the winner before being subbed off for Fabio Borini in the 64th minute.
Rodgers took him to the Far East for the summer of 2013 and, handed the No 33 shirt following the departure of Jonjo Shelvey, made further appearances in the League Cup against Notts County and Premier League against Arsenal.
Ibe was loaned to Birmingham City in February and featured in 11 matches, scoring once and contributing one assist, as the Blues preserved their Championship status in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Bolton on the final afternoon.
He had a role in the move that led to Paul Caddis scoring the stoppage time goal that led to Birmingham staying up.
What's his style?
Ibe usually plays on the left wing, but can be deployed as a striker.
Unsurprisingly for his position, he possesses great pace but also has a good first touch, slick dribbling and a clinical finish.
He is often compared to Sterling and the prospect of those two lining up on either flank is a quite scary one for Premier League defences.
Likely to be a more permanent fixture in Rodgers' side from next season, Ibe will have greater opportunities to develop these attributes in the competitive and unforgiving Premier League environment.
England are expected to reach the European Championship finals at Under 19 level and, boasting a strong side that boasts the likes of Lewis Baker, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Josh Murphy and Devante Cole, have every chance of progressing far in the finals.
Therefore, Ibe will likely have the chance to gain valuable tournament experience out in Hungary.
What happens next?
Ibe will have a busy summer if that all comes to pass and he is expected to feature more regularly for Liverpool's first team next season as they bid to go one better and win the Premier League.
He will almost certainly be included in Liverpool's extended squad as they return to the Champions League after six years away and will undoubtedly feature in League Cup ties.
The other alternative is to send Ibe away on loan once again. The spell at Birmingham was a priceless education given the pressures of their relegation battle and Ibe would be taken by just about every club from the Championship downwards.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...urridges-moves-dance-floor.html#ixzz32wZFL7rq
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By IN THE SPOTLIGHT
PUBLISHED: 11:38, 26 May 2014 | UPDATED: 14:26, 26 May 2014
Jordon Ibe's hat-trick helped England Under 19s to a thumping 6-0 win over Montenegro on Saturday, ensuring the perfect start to their crucial European Championship qualifiers.
The 18-year-old has clearly been inspired in the art of goalscoring by clubmate Daniel Sturridge - and in the art of celebrating too.
He performed Sturridge's trademark dance after scoring and earned himself a cheeky Instagram mention from the senior England striker.
So who is this guy I'm hearing rumours about?
Name: Jordon Ibe
Club: Liverpool
Age: 18
Position: Winger
I'm going to need more than that...
As lightning streaked across the skies above the Banks's Stadium in Walsall on Saturday afternoon, Jordon Ibe was in storming form for England.
The torrential Midlands rain could have disrupted the Young Lions' performance in the first of three crucial qualifiers for July's European Championship, but they had far too much for Montenegro and ran out 6-0 winners.
Ibe's first was a little fortuitous, a low shot that took a wicked deflection to wrongfoot the keeper, but his second, a calm finish from a left-wing cross, and third, a well-taken poked finish, once again showed his class.
They took the 18-year-old's England Under 19 goalscoring record to four in five matches and doubtless earned him a starting berth in Noel Blake's team for the remaining qualifiers with Scotland on Monday night and Ukraine on Thursday.
Firing England to the Euro finals in Hungary would be the perfect way to round off another encouraging year for Ibe, who played a role in helping keep Birmingham City in the Championship during a loan spell and continued his gradual integration into the Liverpool senior squad.
He has certainly caught the eye of Daniel Sturridge, who posed a picture of the youngster mimicking his dance routine celebration after scoring against Montenegro.
Sturridge wrote: 'He's the future of lfc and England. Proud to hear he banged a hat trick for u19s. Repped my dance too!! Stay focused lil bro.'
Liverpool fans have been excited about Ibe for some time, having seen his electrifying performances for the youth team and Under 21s over the last couple of years.
With younger charges Sturridge and Raheem Sterling integral parts of a season that saw Liverpool come within a whisker of their first league title in 24 years, Ibe could be the next prodigy to be brought through by Brendan Rodgers, who has great faith in youth.
Ibe certainly gave his manager food for thought when he turned in a man-of-the-match performance in the 4-0 win over Irish side Shamrock Rovers in Dublin shortly after the end of the season.
It wasn't his first-team debut by any means - that came against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2012-2013 campaign - but it reinforced his potential.
So why all the fuss?
Ibe hails from Bermondsey in south London, and spent four years with the Charlton Athletic kids before joining Wycombe Wanderers at the age of 12. Paul Lambert was in charge at Adams Park at the time.
His rise was spectacular and Ibe made his debut for Wycombe's first team aged just 15 years and 244 days when he came off the bench during extra time in a League Cup win over Colchester United in August 2011.
On October 15 that year, he became Wycombe's youngest ever Football League debutant when he came on in the last minute of a game with Hartlepool United.
Later that month he set another record, becoming the club's youngest Football League goalscorer when he netted in a 2-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.
Then manager Gary Waddock said at the time: 'He is 15 and to do that on your debut tells you the quality the lad has got. We just want to make sure he goes on and fulfils that potential. He could play at the highest level.'
Liverpool obviously agreed and Ibe was snapped up for around £500,000 when he turned 16 in December 2011. He went straight into the Under 18 squad at Anfield and worked under Academy Director Frank McParland.
When appointed as manager in the summer of 2012, Rodgers wanted to run the rule over the club's young stars and took Ibe on the pre-season tour of North America.
He started Rodgers' first game in charge - a 1-1 draw with Toronto - playing 45 minutes as Liverpool fielded a different team in each half.
The 2012-2013 season was spent with the youth team - who reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup before losing to Chelsea - and the Under 21s, where he made 12 appearances and scored one goal.
He scored an outstanding solo goal in the Youth Cup quarter-final win over Leeds, collecting the ball midway inside his own half and running all the way to just outside the six-yard box before slotting home.
But that was apparently an exception to the rule - Ibe revealed that Under 21 manager Alex Inglethorpe had been trying to turn him into Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ibe said: 'Twenty of Ronaldo's goals last season were one touch finishes at the back post. He's been helping me to get within the frame of the goal and in the six-yard box.'
After making the bench for the Premier League match against Southampton, Ibe made his senior debut on the final day against QPR at Anfield.
At 17 years and 162 days, Ibe was the fourth youngest player to make his debut for Liverpool behind Jack Robinson, Raheem Sterling and Michael Owen.
Putting in a positive display, Ibe contributed the assist for Philippe Coutinho to score the winner before being subbed off for Fabio Borini in the 64th minute.
Rodgers took him to the Far East for the summer of 2013 and, handed the No 33 shirt following the departure of Jonjo Shelvey, made further appearances in the League Cup against Notts County and Premier League against Arsenal.
Ibe was loaned to Birmingham City in February and featured in 11 matches, scoring once and contributing one assist, as the Blues preserved their Championship status in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Bolton on the final afternoon.
He had a role in the move that led to Paul Caddis scoring the stoppage time goal that led to Birmingham staying up.
What's his style?
Ibe usually plays on the left wing, but can be deployed as a striker.
Unsurprisingly for his position, he possesses great pace but also has a good first touch, slick dribbling and a clinical finish.
He is often compared to Sterling and the prospect of those two lining up on either flank is a quite scary one for Premier League defences.
Likely to be a more permanent fixture in Rodgers' side from next season, Ibe will have greater opportunities to develop these attributes in the competitive and unforgiving Premier League environment.
England are expected to reach the European Championship finals at Under 19 level and, boasting a strong side that boasts the likes of Lewis Baker, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Josh Murphy and Devante Cole, have every chance of progressing far in the finals.
Therefore, Ibe will likely have the chance to gain valuable tournament experience out in Hungary.
What happens next?
Ibe will have a busy summer if that all comes to pass and he is expected to feature more regularly for Liverpool's first team next season as they bid to go one better and win the Premier League.
He will almost certainly be included in Liverpool's extended squad as they return to the Champions League after six years away and will undoubtedly feature in League Cup ties.
The other alternative is to send Ibe away on loan once again. The spell at Birmingham was a priceless education given the pressures of their relegation battle and Ibe would be taken by just about every club from the Championship downwards.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...urridges-moves-dance-floor.html#ixzz32wZFL7rq
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