'Liverpool would still be there for me' - the Jurgen Klopp pep talk and bear hug that restored Calvin Ramsay's belief

Jurgen Klopp dragged him into his office. A bit crestfallen and low on confidence, Calvin Ramsay wasn’t sure what would happen next.

After all, following his £4.5million move to Liverpool, he was now unavailable to his iconic German gaffer. After a promising start at Anfield the Scot sustained two stress fractures in his back shortly after arriving on Merseyside. And a knee problem, which curtailed a loan switch to Preston North End, had now put him back on the treatment table.

So what was his manager going to say? With Klopp, we should have known. Before Ramsay had even sat down the former Liverpool boss probably gave him one of his trademark bear hugs. And when the kid emerged from their pep talk he was brimming with belief again. Ramsay needed Klopp to put an arm around him. He needed comforting. And that’s what he got.

Klopp’s compassionate words were music to his ears. Even now, several months later, the 21-year-old is full of purpose and direction. Ramsay remains one of Scottish football’s most prodigious talents.

After breaking through the ranks at Pittodrie and catching Liverpool’s eye he was expected to challenge the likes of Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson to be the country’s top right-back. Circumstances have prevented that – but Ramsay believes it WILL happen.

And that Klopp sit-down – along with advice from the likes of Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate – has been a huge help. In an exclusive interview with Record Sport, Ramsay said: “Jurgen knew what it was like for a young player to go through injuries and pulled me into his office one day.

“He told me Liverpool weren’t going anywhere and reminded me that I had a long-term contract. He told me to get myself right and when I was,