Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League after a terrible campaign, and while a late-season purple patch instiled optimism back into Anfield, it was too little, too late.
Despite failing to finish in the top four for the first time in seven seasons, there will be optimism that the 23/24 term can bring brighter fortunes for Jurgen Klopp's outfit, especially considering the onus is on patching up the midfield this summer – the crux of the club's problems this year.
While few, if any, supporters of the Merseyside outfit will welcome Europa League football next season, it presents an opportunity for Klopp to complete the whole gamut of silverware during his tenure while simultaneously opening the door for the younger, more peripheral players of the squad to impress on the European stage, especially in the maiden phase of the competition.
One such starlet who could find opportunities easier to come by is Layton Stewart, who has been a talismanic force for Liverpool's U21 team over the past few years and might finally be able to complete the ascent to first-team prominence.
Who is Layton Stewart?
While Liverpool's senior side have been floundering for much of the 22/23 campaign, posting 11 goals and two assists from just 12 starts in the Premier League 2 and adding another in the EFL Trophy, scoring against Salford.
It's all the more impressive when considering the detrimental ACL injury that the 20-year-old sustained in March 2021, effectively halting the progress he had made by 18 after scoring 15 times from ten appearances in the U18 Premier League in 20/21, dubbed "prolific" by journalist Glenn Price.
According to the Liverpool Echo, he has even been likened to former Reds phenom Fernando Torres, who signed for the club in 2007 for a – then – club-record £20m, and went on to plunder 81 goals and 20 assists from 141 displays, once praised as a "world-class talent" by former captain and teammate Steven Gerrard.
How could Layton Stewart perform next season?
Speaking to Football FanCast, The RedMen TV's Ste Hoare explained how Liverpool's forthcoming Europa League campaign could actually be a blessing in disguise for some of those frequenting the bench with regularity, and Stewart, who is awaiting his breakthrough to Klopp's first-team, could benefit.
Hoare said: "Maybe Europa League; that's an option for young players. In the ideal world, you'd go through the Europa League group as quick as you can and give some young players experience. Jurgen [Klopp's] done that.
"Even the Champions League, we played a dead-rubber in Milan and he picked a very inexperienced team there. So that's one option."
It certainly looks to be the perfect platform from which a precocious talent such as Stewart can use as a foundation for a prospectively 'prolific' career under Klopp's wing, and he could use the opportunity to form a deadly partnership with prodigious midfielder Stefan Bajcetic.
The 18-year-old Spaniard made 19 appearances this term and scored one goal, a surging effort against Aston Villa, and brought intensity and youthful exuberance into the squad at a time they had plummeted from prominence, with Ben Bocsak stating he looks "so mature and composed for his age".
Bajcetic would see his "exceptional" – as Klopp described – breakout season cruelly ended in March after an abductor injury ruled him out of contention until the summer, and while the Merseyside outfit are bolstering the midfield ranks ahead of the 23/24 campaign, the midfield machine will surely still play a part after his blistering maiden success.
Stewart's talismanic aura could complement Bajcetic's all-encompassing central game, and with the duo only set to continue their ascent over the next few years, the Europa League could be the perfect starting point for what could be a starring duo on the major stage for Liverpool's ambitious manager.