Thomas made his first appearance for the Sky Blues against Crystal Palace

Liverpool have signed teenage Coventry City midfielder Conor Thomas on loan with a view to a permanent deal.

On the dramatic day when Andy Carroll replaced Fernando Torres at Anfield, Thomas slipped in almost unnoticed.

But, with a number of tie-ins, the Sky Blues could cash in on the highly-rated 17-year-old in the long term.

Sky Blues boss Aidy Boothroyd was very impressed with the way local boy Thomas handed his first start, in Saturday's 3-2 FA Cup defeat at Birmingham.

"If you've got talent I think it needs to be stretched," Boothroyd told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. "And Conor's got lots of talent.

"He was up against a lot of top players and he didn't look out of place."

Having been on City's books from an early age, the Coventry-born midfielder finally signed professional terms last summer.

Until his debut on Saturday, he had previously only made one substitute appearance - in the third round victory over Crystal Palace three weeks ago.

Boothroyd had been keen on utilising him further at the Ricoh Arena - but Liverpool's offer proved too tempting for the club.

Thomas follows in the footsteps of another Coventry City youngster who signed for Liverpool as a teenager 10 years ago, keeper Chris Kirkland, who moved to Anfield for £6 million on August transfer deadline day 2001.

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