I’ve not seen much of him although there are rave reviews of him in some quarters. I guess it depends on how much we’ll pay for him. There’s an English premium on such players and one wonders if we would do any worse with some from the academy and then spend on genuine upgrades.
We can't count on the academy for more than 1 or 2 first XI players at a time, and more than 3-4 players in the first 22 - and we're right around that traditional bounds. (clubs that have had first XI's dominated by their academy players are rarities and not to ever be expected.) Jones seems to be the only youth coming through at CM, we have fab/keita/ox in the 25ish range and we have milner/hendo/gini approaching their expiration dates and we need to have talent coming in to continue our run as not all of it will pan out. This is a kid that is the second leading scorer and leading chance creator as a 21 yr old CM on a relegation bound team. It appears, to me, that he has the attitude and the talent to make the step up and we should be watching him and making a move if the cash is there.
He caught my eye earlier this season and I like what I see of him . I can understand why Klopp might be interested in him. Cantwell is quick , has good ball control , stays calm when under pressure and he's just 21 . His ceiling for development is high especially under the kind of coaching he would get at Liverpool. I expect to see Lallana and Shaqiri leave , Milner will not play forever so replacements will be needed. One could be Curtis Jones, Cantwell could be another .
My take on Cantwell: He is a decent, young player. He can certainly improve and he would certainly improve under Klopp. But he is not likely to replace any of our current "starters" in midfield - which includes Hendo, Gini, AOC, Fab, or Keita... Cantwell would be a good replacement for Milner, who he would portably benefit from tremendously just by being around him... So - if he is available at a reasonable cost, and he wants to come here as an understudy to Millie, and fight for playing time over the next five years...he is welcome...
He looks quick on the ball for me. Quick thinking , doesn't seem to get flustered easily and seems able to play the ball out of tight situations. He might be a good squad player and fit the style Lpool play under Klopp.
Eye of the beholder I guess. He looks fast enough for me certainly not slow. I'd never heard of him before this season but he's stood out for me when watching Norwich.