Shamal George is 18 years old. He plays in Liverpool's youth academy. He is a goalkeeper. He was put into the squad for Liverpool's friendly against Huddersfield Town on Wednesday to back up Loris Karius after Adam Bogdan got sent on loan to Wigan. He got to make his debut in the second half. At striker.
Yes, striker. Jurgen Klopp used all of his available outfield subs at halftime because that's how it works in friendlies, leaving George as the only player left on the bench. Then Lucas Leiva pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, Klopp moved his remaining players around and then sent George into the game to run around near Huddersfield Town's defense.
He damn near put Lazar Markovic in on goal with his first touch.
Running around wearing a jersey with no number on it, George instantly became a fan favorite. Many people who had not heard of him before the match (like me) will now be tracking his career quite closely.
This is the sort of thing that could only happen in a pre-season friendly, and moments like this give those friendlies some much-needed entertainment value.
Who did this pic.twitter.com/3sGJdIZKOb
— Shamal George (@shamal_george) July 20, 2016
Nice.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
