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One name curiously absent from Liverpool's twenty-seven man travelling squad to southeast Asia was that of Conor Coady. Coady missed last summer's tour despite the sizeable youth contingent that travelled and featured heavily in the early matches, and although Brendan Rodgers' current touring squad skews significantly older and includes many more first team members, it wouldn't have been unexpected for Coady to be amongst the lucky few young players to gain some valuable experience travelling with the senior team.
This was not to be, though, and first Coady's younger brother — an Academy player with Liverpool's U12 team — and then BBC correspondent Luke Reddy confirmed the reason for Coady's absence.
#England Under-20 captain Conor Coady will train with Sheffield United tomorrow. Leaves #Liverpool on 6 month loan. #LFC #SUFC #Blades
— Luke Reddy (@LukeReddy) July 18, 2013
Coady has been on the bubble at Liverpool for what feels like several years now, despite the fact that he only just turned twenty years-old. Capped and made captain at various levels for both the Liverpool Academy and England, Coady only made his Premier League debut at the end of last season in the 1-3 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Like others in his age group at the Academy, a loan spell is probably the best way for Coady to earn minutes this season in light of the reinforcements brought in by Rodgers. Another season spent with the reserves or, best case scenario, named to the first team bench for early cup matches will not benefit his development nearly as much regular opportunity to play.
Sheffield United finished fifth in League One last season and qualified for the League One promotion playoffs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Yeovil Town, Michael Ngoo's new host club, 2-1 on aggregate.
(HT to Jake for his mad Academy sleuthing skillz.)