The Conor Bradley who crunched Kylian Mbappe at Anfield on Wednesday night is the same Conor Bradley Jim Magilton saw when the Liverpool starlet was just 10 years of age.
The 21-year-old from Castlederg was the toast of Merseyside half an hour into Liverpool’s Champions League showdown with Real Madrid when he homed in on Mbappe like an exocet missile.
His perfectly-timed tackle to extinguish a Madrid threat left the French superstar on the deck and Liverpool fans roaring with approval at the young right back, deputising for Real target Trent Alexander-Arnold.
A hamstring injury late on means he may miss out on Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City at Anfield, but his performance on Wednesday was lauded universally.
Northern Ireland fans will have flashbacks to his international debut three years ago, when he upended Swiss pantomime villain Ricardo Rodriguez at Windsor Park in similar, eye-catching fashion.
Magilton, who began his professional career at Anfield, nurtured Bradley through the underage ranks when he was IFA Academy Director from 2013-2020.
The former international midfielder hails Bradley as a shining example to aspiring young players as he waxed lyrical about his former protege.
“You can’t take your eyes off him”, purred the current Cliftonville manager.
“What summed up Conor Bradley on Wednesday night was the tackle, obviously, because it sent out a message.
“He’s playing right back, in arguably the most difficult position to fill at Liverpool, with zero fear. I mean no fear.
“He’s making runs and you’re asking, ‘Conor, where are you going?’
“He’s making runs into the box, he’s on the edge of the 18-yard line with a fantastic one-touch ball to MacAllister, who then scores the most important goal if you like, the first goal.
“I was so proud to see a young player from Northern Ireland do what he did and play in the manner in which he did, with an unbelievable freedom.
“Conor’s enthusiasm and appetite for the game, that was Conor Bradley aged 10 or 11 when I first saw him.
“If young players from Northern Ireland want to go and achieve what he has just achieved, then it’s about appetite, attitude, enthusiasm, because he has that in abundance.
“I just hope it goes from strength to strength, and I’m sure it will.”
Talking of young talents, Magilton was able to give 15-year-old forward Coran Madden his debut off the bench against Loughgall last Saturday.
Madden replaced Micheal Glynn after 67 minutes of a 4-0 win for the Reds at Solitude and while Magilton believes the teenager has a bright future, he has warned against overhyping the lad.
“Anyone who tells you he is going to be this or that is a liar.
“You can never tell if a youngster at that age is going to be a great player as they get older.
“What I can tell you is that he is technically very good. Physically he is still growing and maturing. Mentally he is outstanding.
“There has been a lot of talk and hype around Coran for quite some time, so he has to deal with that.
“I am sure there will be people queuing up for him.”
