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Luca Stephenson has insisted he has no plans to return to Liverpool this season despite the Reds’ defensive injury issues, while saying that his experience marking Luis Diaz means there's nobody he fears in the Scottish Premiership.
The academy graduate, who is yet to make a competitive appearance for Liverpool, spent last season on loan at Tannadice Park, and returned again this summer despite playing a significant role for the Reds in pre-season.
Stephenson featured in several summer matches, often deputizing in defense despite nominally operating in midfield. The 22-year-old has typically played in a right wing-back role this season at Dundee United, with the player’s versatility among his greatest assets.
At Liverpool, a lack of defensive options has been a recurring problem since Stephenson’s move north of the border.
Giovanni Leoni played just one game before he sustained a season-ending injury against Southampton, while Jeremie Frimpong ’s injury woes have limited him to just one league start all season.
Speaking in a recent interview, it was suggested to Stephenson that he could return to Liverpool in January and provide a solution to the team’s selection issues.
Members of Liverpool’s loan management team were reportedly at Tynecastle Park on Sunday to watch Dundee United’s 1-1 draw against Hearts, with Stephenson scoring a second-half equalizer against the league leaders.
And he revealed post-match that he has no plans to head back to Merseyside during the mid-season transfer window.
“I want to stick around for the full season here,” Stephenson told Dundee newspaper, the Courier.
“It doesn’t matter how well I’m doing or how well I did last season, when I join a club, I commit to a full season.
“I almost try and forget about being a Liverpool player a little bit. I’m a Dundee United player and that’s my only concern.”
The Liverpool loanee has excelled in the Scottish Premiership once again this season and credits his education at Anfield for his high performance levels.
“Where I’ve come from in the past couple of years – playing and training at Liverpool – I don’t really fear playing against anybody,” he explained.
“When I’m training with the best in the world every day, it’s natural to gain confidence. If I can get through an 11 vs 11 against Luis Diaz, I can get through an 11 v 11 playing against anybody in this league.
“The three I played against in the summer and throughout pre-season would have been Diaz, [Florian] Wirtz and [Cody] Gakpo – which is a decent range of players.
“People like to speak about the negatives of bringing in lads from the big academies, but I also think it does bring that inner belief. If you can control that, and make sure it’s not an arrogance, and then that can be a big positive.”
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