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Luca Stephenson has made it clear he would reject a return to Liverpool in January despite the Reds' continuing problems at right-back.
Stephenson is in his second consecutive season-long loan at Dundee United, where he remains a regular starter for the Scottish Premiership club. The 22-year-old has been deployed at right wing-back for the Tangerines and found the net in their 1-1 draw at league leaders Hearts on Sunday.
Although he spent most of his Liverpool career in midfield, Stephenson, who has already faced his fair share of injuries, caught the eye at right-back during the Reds' preseason before penning fresh terms and heading back to Scotland on loan.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been forced to think outside the box with his right-back selections this season due to injury problems affecting Conor Bradley and summer acquisition Jeremie Frimpong, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Calvin Ramsay - following three years without a Reds outing - also utilized in that position this campaign.
However, when questioned about the possibility of being recalled by his parent club in January, Stephenson was emphatic about his intentions.
"I want to stick around for the full season here," he said. "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."
Stephenson produced an impressive display at the weekend against in-form Hearts left winger Alexandros Kyziridis, and feels his progression at Liverpool has stood him in good stead.
"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 said, speaking to The Courier.
"When I'm training with the best in the world every day, it's natural to gain confidence.
"If I can get through a 11 vs 11 against Luis Diaz, I can get through a 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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