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In the grand cast of ill-treated players this season, few have flown as under the radar as poor Javier Manquillo. The young Spaniard hasn't quite achieved Dani Pacheco or Luis Alberto levels of "Who?" yet, but he's not far off as a relatively inexperienced loanee who hasn't touched the Anfield pitch since featuring for just shy of seventy minutes against Bolton in the FA Cup in January.
"Everyone wants to play, we are all fighting for our own position on the field and it is true I haven't had the chance to feature since January," Manquillo said. "But it doesn't alter the fact I will work hard to get a game, whether it be the last game of the season or to be considered early on next season. That's what we are here for, we are all here to fight for our place and that's what I will be doing."
The only place Manquillo has featured with semi-regularity recently is Jose Enrique's Instagram account. His chronic position either on the bench or left out of the squad all together has raised questions about the intricate nature of his loan from Atletico Madrid and whether the various triggers, clauses, and buy-back options have been set up in such a way that it benefits Liverpool to underutilise the player this season in order to be sure of securing his services permanently at the end of next season.
What's key is that Manquillo still sees himself as a part of Liverpool's future for the short term, which gently suggests that he won't be returning to Madrid next season. There's still hope yet for the young Spaniard, and he's optimistic about how Liverpool can finish off their final match of the season.
"The start of the season was tricky for us and we weren't in the best of form but, we progressed nicely throughout the season," Manquillo continued. "The main thing now is to end the season on a good note, by qualifying and sealing our place in the Europa League, this would see a great end to the season."
