An in-depth examination of the thriving academy sector while Liverpool pursues Rio Ngumoha from a vengeful Chelsea
Liverpool were careful to act quickly in the final days of 2020 to get Stefan Bacjetic’s signature. With the UK getting ready to exit the EU at the end of that year, the Reds were compelled to move quickly to sign 16-year-old Bajcetic, who was playing for Celta Vigo, due to changes in academy transfer policies following Brexit.
Manchester United was also interested in signing him, but Bajcetic and his father, former Serbian international Srdan, felt that the player’s future was best served by Liverpool because of the Reds’ established relationship with the player’s family dating back to the player’s remarkable development at Celta.
Free movement between EU countries ended with the UK’s exit from the EU, and one of the main pieces of new law was the requirement that players registering from outside the UK receive a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE).
The GBE established a point requirement that the player must meet in order to be granted legal permission to work in the UK. The point system considers a player’s senior and junior international appearances, the club they are joining, the caliber of the league they play in, their position, their success on the continent, and the number of games and minutes they have played in.
It would be inaccurate to suggest Liverpool’s interest previously overlooked those on home soil but the end of 2020, bookended by Bajcetic’s capture, brought with it a renewed determination to scour the UK for the best teenagers emerging throughout.
And while that focus was almost foisted upon the club by government regulations way beyond their control, it is one that is starting to bear fruit.
Fifteen-year-old Calum Scalon was signed shortly after Bajcetic from Birmingham City for around £500,000 and last season, like it was so many within the ranks of a thriving Academy setup, was a memorable one for the versatile defender.
A late cameo in a 5-1 hammering of Toulouse in October was his senior debut before he featured once in the Europa League as a substitute in a 2-1 loss to Union Saint-Gilloise after the Reds had already qualified from their group as winners.
Scanlon is once more with the senior ranks this pre-season as new head coach Arne Slot gets a closer look at the burgeoning talent available to him. With so many of Slot’s senior stars currently enjoying an end-of-season holiday or still involved at the Copa America or European Championships, it is a chance for many younger players in the system to showcase their talents.
Liverpool have aggressively and proactively scoured the UK since and have added the likes of Kaide Gordon, Ben Doak and Trent Kone-Doherty have all been brought to the club since from clubs in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively, while the Carabao Cup success in February featured James McConnell and Bobby Clark, who were brought to Kirkby from the North East in recent times.
Electric winger Kone-Doherty, who signed from Derry City in July of 2022, signed his first professional contract in October last year having impressed during his time at Kirkby, while Carabao Cup winner McConnell was able to pen his own terms in October 2022 having joined from Sunderland as a 15-year-old.
McConnell has since gone on to play nine times for the senior side that included a cameo in the 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley as well as claiming an assist for Curtis Jones in an FA Cup win over Norwich City at Anfield in January.
Last summer, the Reds academy, whose recruitment is overseen by Matt Newberry, were able to land Amaro Nallo from West Ham United and Trey Nyoni from Leicester City, with the latter introduced in a win over Southampton earlier this year to become the youngest to feature for the club in an FA Cup tie at the tender age of 16 years and 243 days.
More recently, the club have turned their attention to Alvin Ayman at Wolves, who travelled with the Wolves first team for their away game against Manchester City in May in an effort to give him exposure to the senior environment.
Twelve months earlier, Ayman was still a scholar at Bradford City having joined them as a junior and it’s been a sharp rise for the teenage defender, who is now on the cusp of a move to Liverpool.
It’s been reported that the Reds have fended off significant interest from fellow ‘big-six’ rivals to land the teenager, with the pathways they are able boast towards first-team stardom now unmistakable for young hopefuls choosing their next step.
When Bajcetic was on the cusp of making his Premier League choice, Liverpool showcased the development of players like Neco Williams, Curtis Jones and most notably Trent Alexander-Arnold in their pitch but events at Wembley on February 25 have made that job a little easier.
The post-match image of a jubilant set of Academy graduates is a huge source of pride to those who work at the Academy but the picture of Quansah, Clark, Doak, Nyoni and Bajcetic all celebrating alongside Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns, Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott – all with winners’ medals in tow – tells more than a thousand-word pitch might from coaches when attempting to coax the nation’s emerging starlets. ”
Homegrown” was the suitably succinct summary on Alexander-Arnold’s Instagram post and it’s an image that speaks volumes for the club’s approach.
The effort to turn fledglings into Liverpool’s stars-of-tomorrow goes much further than just what they are taught on the pitches of the Kirkby base, however.
While Academy director Alex Ingelthorpe and his coaches have put the foundations in place for the youngsters to build their careers on, preparing them for the trappings and the pitfalls of professional football is about much more.
In the second year, scholars are encouraged to learn more about the cultural impact Liverpool as a city has on a more national scale and the wider global community.
Scholars are taught about the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters and why an overwhelming majority of Reds supporters will sing derogatory songs about the Conservative government and boo the national anthem.
It’s stressed that players are not told they must agree with the stance of what is largely a left-leaning fanbase, politically, but it is felt that education is paramount to understanding why it continues to happen.
The youngsters are encouraged to make their own minds up about such issues and there is an effort to produce more caring and empathetic players with a focus on education in areas such as racism and homophobia.
Players are taught about protected characteristics and that a life in football means working with colleagues from all walks of life and more often than not, the top levels mean interacting with colleagues from all corners of the globe.
Of course, there is an extensive focus on mental health, wellbeing and the perils of social media.
Younger players are more tuned in than ever to sites like Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok and it is important that they don’t suffer as a result through negative online opinions or direct abuse.
It all forms part of what insiders believe is an ‘industry-leading’ education programme designed to produce well-rounded people as much as it aims to churn out polished, elite-level footballers.
One of those, it is hoped, will be Rio Ngumoha, who is on the cusp of joining from Chelsea in a move that has angered and frustrated the Londoners, who have lost a potential star-of-the-future to a Premier League rival for what will be a relatively nominal compensation fee.
Ngumoha is viewed by insiders as having the potential to become a star in the coming years with the Reds believing they have landed one of the most exciting talents in England for his age range. Suggestions the club have broken their wage structure to land the winger, however, have been rubbished.
It’s understood the arrival of Ngumoha is in-keeping with existing policies that are strictly set out by long-serving Academy director Alex Inglethorpe and the youngster will be on a scholarship wage at Kirkby once he officially becomes a Reds player.
The club’s recent track of blooding players from their academy ranks into the first-team is key to the decision over the move with the 2024 Carabao Cup final cited as the perfect example of the two contrasting strategies at both clubs.
The appointment of Aaron Briggs this week as the club’s new first-team individual development coach will important to those in the U18s and U21 ranks getting put up in front of Slot and his backroom staff.
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