Liverpool include young Irish player for pre-season tour

Irish footballers used to be part of the furniture at Anfield.

From Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton, Steve Staunton and John Aldridge to Jim Beglin and Steve Finnan, Irish players have formed a key part of Liverpool's past success. It's been a while since Ireland has been represented in Liverpool's first team though, with Robbie Keane the last high profile Irishman to line-out for the Merseyside club, and that didn't exactly go to plan. However, a young Irish player has been included in the club's first-team squad for their pre-season tour. Daniel Cleary may have a long way to go to match the feats of former Irish players, but it's a step in the right direction. https://twitter.com/LFC/status/619825985387659264 The 19 year old Dubliner is included among the 30 man squad, after impressing in the FA Youth Cup. Cleary is a centre-half, and played for Crumlin United before signing for Liverpool. He also captained Ireland UEFA U17 Championships back in March 2013, and has played for Ireland since U-15 level. According to his profile on Liverpool's official website, Cleary's "an aggressive defender who has strength in abundance." and a "gifted ball player and can carry possession from the back to help open up pockets of space for his teammates to exploit." [caption id="attachment_31830" align="aligncenter" width="407"] Image via liverpoolfc.com[/caption] Hopefully the young defender can get some playing time on the tour and continue his development.