'Paul Glatzel has finished the season strong and looks in really good shape'
Barry Lewtas has spoken of his delight at seeing Paul Glatzel return to action after a season disrupted by injuries.
The 20-year-old missed the whole of the 2019-20 campaign after suffering an ACL injury in a first-team friendly against Tranmere Rovers.
Having looked sharp in pre-season ahead of 2020-21, he then damaged ankle ligaments in a Premier League 2 fixture with Southampton in November.
The forward made a scoring return to action in April during the away game at Tottenham Hotspur, before ending the campaign by providing an assist versus Leicester City.
Glatzel will get more minutes this evening as Lewtas takes his U23s side to League One outfit AFC Wimbledon (kick-off 7pm BST).
The friendly encounter has been arranged as a test event by the home side as they will welcome around 2,000 fans, socially distanced, into their new Plough Lane stadium for the first time.
Ahead of the friendly, read on as Lewtas discusses the return of Glatzel and the encouraging progress made this season…
On Glatzel’s return to fitness…
It has been great to have him back. It’s been really disappointing for him in terms of the setbacks he’s had this season, just as he was getting back. He’s been really unfortunate and a big loss for us as a group as well because he hasn’t been able to play many games for the U23s this season. You saw against Leicester City how sharp he was and he got a fantastic assist for the second goal, which Kaide Gordon finished really well from. Paul has finished the season strong, which is really important, he looks in really good shape and this game against AFC Wimbledon is an opportunity for him to get more minutes and build towards next season.
On how the friendly with AFC Wimbledon came about…
It was just an opportunity at the end of the season to get an extra game for the lads in AFC Wimbledon’s new stadium, which will have fans there. We have timed that just right and they are looking at 2,000 fans in the ground and it’s a nice little opportunity for their players and also our lads as well. We are looking forward to it. It will be a good test for the lads and a great experience.
On a good end to the season with the 2-0 win at Leicester City in Premier League 2…
It was and we ended the season playing Leicester twice. In the home game it obviously wasn’t ideal going down to 10 men early on, but I thought we did really well in the game, taking the lead twice. They equalised with a really good goal but apart from that I thought we dealt with their situations really well. The second game, they needed to win to stay in Premier League 2 Division One, so there was certainly something on the game. We knew they would come at us but I thought we played really well. We counter-attacked them really well and it was a really good performance. We got a clean sheet, a win, so I was really pleased.
U23s highlights: Leicester 0-2 Liverpool
On his assessment of the 2020-21 season at U23 level…
There has been some good progress. At the end of the season you sit down and you look at, first and foremost, what’s come from the group in terms of individuals and development. We had a couple of boys from the squad in Sepp van den Berg and Liam Millar going out on loan to Preston North End and Charlton Athletic and they have done really well. As a group of staff, we will reflect on that. Obviously we have had boys who have been able to get further exposure with the first team, training regularly with them – like Leighton Clarkson and Jake Cain, Ben Woodburn since he came back and Owen Beck.
If you look at Premier League 2 overall – fair play to Manchester City who won it, they have a very strong side. The rest of the teams are tightly packed together. It was competitive and obviously I have to say there were certain games I was disappointed in, like the home games against Manchester City and Manchester United, in certain moments of those games. We have had such a young group this season and I think a few of them really learned the fine margins of the next level. Little mistakes can cost you goals and it’s not as easy against better players as the level gets higher. So it’s been a really good learning experience for the players and the progress and improvement they have made has been a real plus point.
On Fidel O’Rourke and Matteo Ritaccio recently signing new deals…
I’m really pleased for Fidel and Matteo. Fidel works ever so hard for the team and he is a real team player. He gives his all in every game and he deserves his deal for the hard work he has put in. Matteo has had a frustrating season through injuries but this new deal will give him a boost and it will be great to have him back competing again for us next season.