NewsJayden Danns interview: New Liverpool contract, FA Cup aims and Mohamed Salah inspiration
Jayden Danns outlined his desire to build on a fairy-tale start to his Liverpool career while reflecting on the ‘dream come true’ of signing a new long-term contract with the club he loves.
The 18-year-old striker penned an extension with the Reds on Friday to continue a remarkable period that began when he made his senior debut as a substitute in the 4-1 victory over Luton Town at Anfield last month.
Four days later, Danns came off the bench in the Carabao Cup final and subsequently left Wembley with a winner’s medal, before he then scored twice at the Kop end as Southampton were beaten 3-0 in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round.
“I’ve said it so many times, it’s my boyhood club so to sign a new contract, it’s a dream come true and it’s just a really good feeling,” the Scouser told Liverpoolfc.com.
“I haven’t impacted as much as I want to impact just yet, I think there is more to come with me. I just want to keep working hard, keep trying to get as many opportunities [as possible] and push for more spots, and try to score more goals.
“Looking back, at times I might have been thinking, ‘This is going to be tough’ to get here, but I didn’t really doubt myself that I was going to be where I am at the minute and my goal is to just keep pushing and work as hard as I can.
“I’ve always had that mindset of wanting to push on and be the best and do as well as I possibly can. It boosts my confidence going into games knowing that the club backs me and the gaffer backs me and so do the players. It’s huge for me.
“My goals are huge. My big thing is just to work as hard as I possibly can and to reach my ceiling – some players can work really hard but they might not get to where other players are.
“But that’s my thing: I just want to work hard and have no regrets throughout my career, to where I can look back at it and [know] I’ve done everything I can possibly do.”
Next up for Liverpool is an FA Cup quarter-final versus Manchester United at Old Trafford this afternoon and Danns stated: “Hopefully I’m involved.
“As I said, I’m grateful for the opportunities and United are a good team and they’ve got a big name behind them, but Liverpool do too and you see the squad and how good the momentum has been going – hopefully we can go there and get the job done.”
The Reds make the short trip to face United having won eight and drawn one of their last nine fixtures across all competitions; a sequence that has seen them score 28 goals while conceding just six.
And Danns spoke of the belief that is coursing through Jürgen Klopp’s squad as their quest for more silverware continues.
The teenager said: “The lads always have smiles on their faces and they put in the most work.
“It’s amazing to look up to: the graft that they put in every day, every session, every day in the gym, so to be honest the momentum is hard to stop when everyone is working so hard and everyone’s on the same wavelength.”
As a fellow forward, Danns takes huge inspiration from Mohamed Salah, who on Thursday became the first player in the club’s history to score 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons.
“He’s a role model. He’s the man you look to for goals, he’s the man you look to for assists,” Danns noted.
“Just having him in your team, to be honest, is a big inspiration and for me I’ve always watched him score and I’ve always watched him produce and sometimes you think, ‘How do you do it so consistently?’ He is brilliant to have around the team and as a young player you just look up to him and try to take as much on board as you can possibly get.
“I’d have to ask him [how he does it], but if it was my guess I’d say it’s probably the consistency, he’s always working hard.
“You see him, he’s always getting an ice bath after training, recovering, in training he’s working hard, in the gym he’s working hard and he’s always doing extras. That’s the person he is really. I haven’t really spoken to him much but when I’m looking from the outer, he’s a joke, to be honest!
“To watch him, he is just really inspiring and that’s the player I want to become, really: I want to become that consistent and be able to produce the moments that he can so I’ve just got to work as hard as he does to get there.”
