Reds reward Mannix
Liverpool have rewarded teenage midfielder David Mannix with a new two-and-a-half-year contract after he returned to full fitness following five knee operations.
The 19-year-old has impressed in the Anfield reserves and is aiming to break into the first team next season.
“It is a real boost for me signing the new contract as it gives me extra time to prove to the manager what I can do,” said Mannix.
Merseyside-born Mannix has been assured by boss Rafael Benitez that youngsters will continue to be ushered into the first-team squad.
He first made an impression when appearing for the Liverpool under-17 team as a 13-year-old, but Mannix’s progress has been held up by the serious knee injury which required repeated surgery.
“After my first operation I wasn’t thinking about I might never play again but after my second operation I was 100% sure that I would not play again,” he said on www.liverpoolfc.tv.
"In the end I went to America and had a fifth operation and it worked for me. Maybe next season I’ll get a go and I can take my chance. It is a bit frustrating seeing the other young lads get a chance when I have been injured but I’m made up to be playing again and I can’t jump the gun too much.”
