Snubbing Manchester City for dream Liverpool transfer highlights Bobby Duncan’s ‘undeniable self-belief’

You can learn a lot about Bobby Duncan’s personality from the start of his Liverpool career.

As the cousin of a certain Steven Gerrard and the first Englishman to have ever scored a hat-trick against Brazil, has a young player been burdened by such huge expectations upon arriving at the club’s academy?

And yet, four months on from his controversial move from Manchester City, Duncan has already added to his burgeoning reputation with 11 goals and a string of outstanding performances.

The Huyton-born forward took a big risk in turning down a professional contract offer from the Premier League champions in order to secure what he had often privately described as his ‘dream move’ this summer.

That he is thriving after taking that leap of faith is typical of a young footballer for whom single-mindedness has always been a notable trait.

It is certainly what caught the eye of Ian Forgie, PE teacher at Cardinal Heenan High School, when he first met Duncan.

“He just exuded confidence; he always has done,” he recalls.

“He had this undeniable self-belief that he was going to be elite, nothing was going to stop him - more than I’ve ever seen in a pupil.

“We’ve had a lot of good footballers come through the school, there were a lot in that team.

“But none had that unwavering self-belief that he had from walking through the doors in Year 7.”

Of course, self-belief doesn’t count for much without talent, but Duncan wasted little time in proving he had that in abundance, too.

By Forgie’s calculations, around two-thirds of Cardinal Heenan’s annual 240-pupil intake participate in trials for the Year 7 football team, making standing out somewhat difficult.

Unless you’re an 11-year-old Bobby Duncan, that is.

Forgie explains: “He got the ball off the goalkeeper and you’re thinking, ‘Okay, a centre-half, looks a good physical centre-half...’ - and then he just ran through seven players and calmly side-footed it in.”

“It was one of those moments where you take a little step back. I think we let him play 15 minutes because it was just, in footballing terms, a bullying session.

“He was way above and beyond 99 percent of what else was on those pitches at that time.”

Duncan went on to thrive as part of a team that also included Luca Connell, now of Bolton Wanderers, and Sonny Hilton, who has since joined Fulham from Tranmere Rovers.

And it was goals helped earn Cardinal Heenan the right to represent England at the Danone Nations Cup youth tournament, where he top-scored despite a ninth-place finish to pick up the golden boot from none other than Zinedine Zidane.

These were to be his last contributions for the West Derby-based school, with Manchester City electing to transfer him to the fee-paying St Bede’s College in Whalley Range shortly after.

Still, absence from his home city did not dampen Duncan’s desire to one day represent the team that bears its name; nor did a lengthy spell without competitive club football necessitated by his decision to reject City’s offer of a professional deal.

With Liverpool unable to take up the player’s registration during that period, Paul Cook was asked - by Steven Gerrard, no less - if he might allow Duncan to train with Wigan Athletic.

The Latics boss was happy to help, and his trusted lieutenant, first-team coach Anthony Barry, has fond memories of the young Scouser’s resultant stay at the club’s Euxton base.

He says: “The greatest praise I could give him, is he never let training down.

“Physically, technically he was more than capable of training with us. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he could have played with us but you could see the talent, the potential that he had.

“As a lad, he took everything in his stride. If you know Bobby you know there’s no nerves, no anxiety, there’s an assuredness about him that says he’ll hopefully go on and fulfil the potential that everyone thinks he’s got.

“[He’s a] typical young Scouse footballer, wears his heart on his sleeve, loves his football, wants to be out on the training ground every single minute of the day and you struggle to get him off it.”

A product of Everton’s academy himself, Barry says he was reminded of his most celebrated former teammate when watching Duncan train.

He says: “He’s just a typical street player; a raw talent. I think there are many similarities between him and Wayne Rooney in his physique and the way he plays his game and his upbringing.

“I played with Wayne right through the youth teams and the similarities are there for everyone to see I think.”

Forgie, too, is convinced the Huyton native is reminiscent of a great Scouse striker of the Premier League era - though this one’s loyalties lay with the red half of Merseyside.

He recalls: “From the first trial and from the way he uses that left foot, I said he’s a young Robbie Fowler. That’s all I see.

“He’s not going to be that tall, he’s going to be strong in the same way, he’s going to have that neck like Robbie Fowler.

“It’ll be about him scoring goals. If he can add that work rate to it, he’ll be there or thereabouts at the elite level.”

With comparisons like these already being drawn, Duncan’s habit of living up to expectations may come in handy in the next few years.