New youngsters will adapt, says Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers expects his new youngsters to adapt quickly to life at Anfield.

Rodgers handed Premier League debuts to 22-year-old left-back Alberto Moreno and 20-year-old winger Lazar Markovic in Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat at Manchester City on Monday.

Moreno, who arrived from Sevilla earlier this month, started at the Etihad Stadium and looked comfortable until making an error that allowed Stevan Jovetic to open the scoring for City shortly before half-time.

Former Benfica man Markovic, meanwhile, showed signs that he can provide added pace and guile to a Liverpool attack that has been shorn of Luis Suarez after coming off the bench with half an hour remaining.

Speaking after Monday’s game, Rodgers noted that while it will take some time for the likes of Moreno and Markovic to acclimatise to English football, he expects them to do so sooner rather than later.

“For the younger players we’ve brought in, there is a period of adaption,” he explained.

“We’ve still got the core of our squad from last season, and the players that have come in will have the opportunity to develop and adapt.

“Of course, if you come in from a different country and culture, it will take a little bit of time.

“Young Alberto Moreno tonight showed flashes of his quality. He’ll learn. He wasn’t the finished article when we brought him in, we knew there were certain areas we needed to work on, but that’s something our eyes are wide open to.

“Lazar came on and showed his pace and quality. It’s very early for this squad – we’ve had to make changes to improve the depth, but as the season goes on we’ll become better and better.”

Moreno and Markovic are two of nine new signings Liverpool have made since the end of last season, with Mario Balotelli, who arrived on Monday, their latest addition.