“The defender, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday, penned fresh terms with the Reds to extend a stay that began when he joined the Academy as an U10 player.
“Whelan – a Republic of Ireland youth international – switched to Merseyside from Crewe Alexandra, where he was coached by current Liverpool U23s manager Neil Critchley.
“He was handed the captain’s armband for Critchley’s in-form side, who lead Premier League 2 by six points after a dozen games, at the beginning of the season.”
Republic of Ireland U21 international Corey Whelan has signed a new deal to stay at Liverpool.
Whelan has come through the club’s youth academy and has cemented himself as a regular in Neil Critchley’s Liverpool U23 side, scoring the second goal in the Reds 4-0 win over the Everton U23’s at Prenton Park last month.
The Chester born defender said earlier this year that he has hopes of breaking into the Liverpool first team in the near future and that he has an aim of becoming a regular fixture in Jurgen Klopp’s squad should he get the opportunity.
“We train here every day with a great set of lads and we get first-team players dropping in now and again and their attitude is always top class,” Whelan told the club’s website.
“You’ve got to aim for that – at the end of the day, that’s the final goal. Every day you’ve got to work hard. I don’t think you can miss a day, you can’t come in to your place of work and think ‘I’m going to put 60 per cent in today’, because that won’t get you to where you want to go.
“I want to work hard, impress the staff here and hopefully get a call to go there and then impress the manager.
“You’ve got to put yourself out there. You can’t go there to make up the numbers, you’ve got to go there and say ‘right, I’m ready, I’m here and I want to stay here’.
“I’m sure the lads that have gone there have done that and that’s why they’ve stayed there. I think that’s key.”
A statement on the club’s website concerning Whelan’s new deal read:
“Liverpool U23s captain Corey Whelan has signed a new contract with the club.
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