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Conor Bradley has dismissed comparisons made between himself and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, but admitted it was a tremendous compliment to hear.
That claim was made by former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham, who last week said the right-back’s “tenacity and drive” reminded him of a young Gerrard. It was a comparison actually made of Bradley during his youth career, when the now 22-year-old operated as a midfielder.
He eventually found his calling in defense, the opposite of Gerrard, who transitioned from a full-back to an elite-level midfielder. Gerrard was back at Anfield to witness Bradley’s excellent performance in the 2-0 over Aston Villa at the start of the month, and the academy graduate excelled even further in the subsequent games against Real Madrid and Manchester City.
His ability to keep Vinicius Junior quiet in the Champions League saw Bradley earn huge plaudits, while Pep Guardiola singled him out for praise despite playing on the losing side in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at the Etihad.
The Northern Ireland international is now facing a different challenge as he attempts to guide his country to a first World Cup appearance in 40 years.
He spoke alongside head coach Michael O’Neill ahead of the qualifier in Slovakia, and was asked about those comments from Sheringham. “Not a bad comparison. I’ll take that every day of the week,” Bradley responded.
“Whenever you play for a club like Liverpool, there’s pressure and there’s eyes on you all the time. I’ve started to realise that over the last two years. You’ve just got to try and be as consistent as you can every time you go out there and play.
“Obviously, for Teddy to say that, being compared to Gerrard, I don’t know if I completely agree with him. Watching Gerrard when I was younger, he was unbelievable, but it’s obviously nice to hear from people who’ve played the game. It’s really nice to hear.”
Bradley’s recent performances have gone a long way to securing his place as Liverpool’s first-choice right-back in the wake of Alexander-Arnold’s exit last summer, and the County Tyrone man feels his performances have improved with the extra burden placed on his shoulders.
“I just think it’s about trying to get better and better and better, that’s really important,” said Bradley.
“The last 12 months have been really good, obviously winning the Premier League with Liverpool. It’s something you can’t really describe in words how special that is. So, yeah, it’s been good the last 12 months, but just trying to kick on now and keep going.”
On Northern Ireland’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup, Bradley added: “It would be special to get to a major tournament with my country, it’s something I dream of.
“It would be fantastic if we could get there, but we know how tough it is. It hasn’t happened much in the past.
“We know how difficult it is, but I’ve full belief in this group of players. We’ve a really good team and really good young players. Hopefully, we can get there.”
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