Liverpool's young English striker Oakley Cannonier announced on Thursday through The Athletic that he will leave the club at the end of the season after his contract expires.

According to the report, Cannonier described the past two years of being completely without playing time as living in hell, and reiterated that he was forced to leave Liverpool, the club he has supported and played for since childhood, in order to get playing time.

Cannonier said: "I'll be leaving at the end of this season, and right now I just want some consistent playing time. At my age, that's all I want to do."

"The past 18 months have been really tough, no games to play. You train all week and then get nothing, it's a terrible feeling."

"People haven't seen me play for two years. That's what's holding me back."

"If I could get consistent playing time in the U23s Premier League (PL2), I'm sure I could score, but it hasn't worked out."

"I've been fit for two years, but the manager has chosen other players. They signed a very good striker, Will Wright, from Salford City, so he's been playing consistently."

"I just need playing time. If I can get back into match fitness, I know I'll be fine because shooting is innate to me."

"I don't care where I play, I just want to play, score goals, and show everyone my ability."

Cannonier has been plagued by injuries for four years since 2020, significantly hindering his development.

This young player, a Liverpool supporter since childhood and idolizing former legendary Spain international striker Fernando Torres, won the U21s Premier League Golden Boot in 2021 for scoring 40 goals across all competitions for the U21s team.

He was also the ball boy who provided the match ball for Trent Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool's Champions League comeback victory over Barcelona, enabling him to make a lightning-fast assist to Divock Origi.

However, since being plagued by injuries, Jayden Danes, Bobby Clark, Ben Gannon Doak, Trent Koné-Doherty, Rio Ngumoha, and even the currently developing Wright and Joshua Abe have all surpassed Cannonier.

Cannonier's last appearance for Liverpool's U21s team was on January 27, 2025, in the match against West Ham United U21s.

From then on, despite being perfectly healthy, he was unable to play for two years due to his age being too old for the U21s level and not quite possess the abilities to be permanently promoted to the first-team.

During this period, Cannonier received an offer from his hometown club, Leeds United. However, the transfer fell through because the Whites and Liverpool could not reach an agreement on youth compensation fees.

About Oakley Cannonier

The 21-year-old Cannonier was born on May 6, 2004, at Leeds United, England, and plays as a center forward.

Cannonier played for Leeds United's youth academy as a child before joining Liverpool's renowned Kirkby youth academy at the age of nine. He began playing for Liverpool's U21s team in 2019.

Since becoming a player of the Reds, Cannonier has made 70 appearances for the reigning Premier League champions' U21s team in all competitions, scoring 44 goals and providing 5 assists, winning the U21s Premier League Golden Boot once.

Image source: Internet / Liverpool official website