Derek McInnes admits he’d love to take Luke Chambers back at Kilmarnock.
The left-back, 18, made 16 appearances for the Rugby Park outfit after joining on loan from Liverpool in January this year.
The defender made quite the impact during his four months in Ayrshire, proving to be composed, agile, and no slouch in a tackle.
His passing ability also caught the eye, as he showed his class coming from a Premier League team’s academy. On his debut, he set up Danny Armstrong to score the winner against Dundee United with a lovely chop inside, before whipping a low ball for the winger to run on at the edge of the box.
Chambers saved his best performances for the season’s final two matches against Dundee United and Ross County, like several other Killie players as the club maintained their Premiership status.
Ultimately, it was a move that worked for all parties. The fans certainly want to see him back in blue and white stripes next season. Whether that’s plausible is unknown at this stage, according to both McInnes and the player himself.
Reflecting on Killie’s numerous loan moves, the boss said: “We were really pleased with Ben Chrisene until his injury and then Luke came in. We got Luke in as soon as Ben was out for the season.
“Luke is one I would really like to work with again. We’ve had conversations with Luke, his family, his agent, and Liverpool and everyone agrees how good a loan it was.
“It’s whether Liverpool sees that as the right thing for him. They are totally in charge of that situation. Certainly, if there was an indication or encouragement to do that deal, we would like to bring him back.
“I said to Luke: You are now our PR guy at Liverpool! You need to reinforce how good it is for any boys we are looking for.”
READ MORE: What Russ Richardson brings to the table for Kilmarnock this summer
He added: “He will walk back into Liverpool feeling good about himself. We’ve got a good relationship with them through Russ [Richardson], but Luke’s loan reinforces it.
“We feel we’ve got a strong relationship with Arsenal even though Ryan Alebiosu didn’t have as much of an impact as we’d hoped in the second half of the campaign, and Aston Villa we’re on good terms with.
“It’s important we have these relationships with these clubs, we want to be the first call when they want to put their younger players out.
“I think we’ve got a bit of credit in the bank with Liverpool just now, young Luke will help when it comes to the future.”
The teenager admits he doesn’t know what the immediate future holds, although his clear end goal is to become a regular in the Premier League for Liverpool.
Although, what he can assure everyone of a Killie persuasion is that he will forever hold the club in high regard.
And it's safe to say everyone at the club will do likewise for Chambers after he backed out of England's U20 World Cup campaign to help Killie at the end of the season.
Asked if a return appealed, he commented: “Yeah, possibly. I’d sit down with the club and have a look, but there is a lot involved in it and it’s hard for me to say.
“What I can say is that I would never say a bad word about Kilmarnock. It was absolutely unbelievable, and I would 100 per cent tell other people in my situation that if they got the chance to go and play there.
“The fans, the management, the players, and the staff were amazing to work with.
“When I first joined, I just wanted that bit of experience and see what developments I had to make.
“I had to play against men in front of big crowds and it’s been amazing. I’m sure it’s put me in a good place for going forward.”
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