This week’s Blood Red column looks at a famous night for Liverpool’s Academy and argues why success bursting from behind those closed doors must now become the norm at Anfield
It was no doubt a morning full of smiles and back patting at Liverpool’s Kirkby Academy on Friday.
The spring in the step of all the coaches will have been noticeable after an evening of first-team action that saw as many of seven of their graduates play a part in a resounding European win.
It might not have been the Champions League and Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse are certainly not a continental heavyweight, but the pride will have been fulsome across the Academy departments after a 5-1 demolition moved the senior Reds to within touching distance of knockout stage involvement.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold in possession of the captain’s armband and Curtis Jones continuing his excellent form of recent months, Jurgen Klopp was also able to name Caoimhin Kelleher in goal and senior debutant Luke Chambers at left-back.
Throw in Calum Scanlon, James McConnell and Jarell Quansah from the bench and it completed a famous night for those who have watched the rise of all seven up close and personal in the recent years and months at the club’s youth base.
And had Bobby Clark and Ben Doak been fit and available the pair might have brought the overall tally up to nine on the night. Even Harvey Elliott briefly turned out for the Under-21s after his own move from Fulham in 2019 for added Academy sheen.
This is what the club are working so hard to achieve behind the scenes, away from the unflinching glare of the first-team fortunes. The aim to produce players capable of being ready for life as a Liverpool senior is one that is never truly complete, but Thursday night was undoubtedly a memorable milestone on the journey.
With the competition at the sharp end of the game now stronger than ever, Liverpool are, rightly or wrongly, not able to match the same sorts of sums as some of their main rivals as consistently in the transfer market. Without being paupers, the club still need to work smarter to unearth players of sufficient quality to shine at Anfield and the work undertaken by Head of Academy Recruitment Matt Newberry in recent years has been exceptional.
Newberry’s remit has generally been to ensure it is Liverpool who are signing the very best youngsters across the Britain and Ireland and the recent history points to a department who are now, more often than not, getting it right.
Since the end of 2020, Liverpool have been able to bring the likes of Doak, Clark and now Scanlon into their senior ranks at various points and the former is now undoubtedly considered a first-team player having broken through across the 12 months.
Had Kaide Gordon not cruelly been out injured for over a year himself, the former Derby County winger will have most certainly built on his own early promise of 2022 when he started in a Carabao Cup semi-final and scored in the FA Cup.
Newberry and the team made sure they moved quickly to secure Stefan Bajcetic to a Liverpool contract at the end of 2020 to beat New Year legislation that changed how the signing of youngsters from overseas worked due to England’s decision to leave the European Union. With 19 senior appearances during a breakout term last time out, the move that saw them fend off Manchester United to sign Bajcetic from Celta Vigo appears to have been an inspired one.
Doak’s own path is currently being forged with eight senior appearances under his belt, while Clark, the son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee, has been able to claim two of his own under Klopp.
With six appearances this term, Quansah feels like the next cab off the rank and the England Under-21 international has grown in stature since the club took the decision not to add to their centre-back ranks in the summer transfer window. After a loan spell at Bristol Rovers in the second half of last season, he is now poised for more games at Anfield as Klopp shuffles his options across four competitions.
With Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup to come next week, Quansah could be in line for another run-out. He’s been one of the quiet success stories of the early season for the Reds.
It must be stressed that such an occasion like Thursday night would not be possible without a manager like Klopp, whose commitment in youth prospects is unwavering. It’s seven years this week since vice-captain Alexander-Arnold made his senior debut and he has become one of the most creative and pioneering full-backs of the modern era during that time, while winning every top level trophy available. None of that would have been possible without the trust and belief of his Liverpool manager.
But for those now making their way to the fringes to the first team under Klopp, Alexander-Arnold should represent the posterboy for how it should be done. Under his manager’s careful watch he has gone from being a young hopeful to a Champions League and Premier League winner who will one day move from vice captain to outright skipper of the club itself.
