September 19 – Liverpool are set to pour £5 million into redeveloping their Kirkby academy, a move the club hopes will put it back on its perch as one of Europe’s leading talent factories.
The news comes at a poignant time for the club: despite its success, Liverpool have been left a little bare when it comes to academy-grown English talent.
On Wednesday night, Arne Slot fielded a side without a single English player for the first time in the club’s European history, during its dramatic victory over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Academy trio Curtis Jones, Rio Ngumoa (poached from Chelsea at 15) and Trey Nyoni are all on the fringes of the first team, but now that Trent Alexander-Arnold has left the club, alongside fellow academy prospect Jarell Quansah, there is a clear absence of academy influence in the squad.
At the forefront of the upgrade plans, the main pitch at the Reds’ youth base will be built over with a dome – attached to the existing Academy building – providing a full-size indoor pitch for use.
A new grass pitch will also be created in the outdoor area and feature a stand capable of holding up to 500 spectators, becoming the new external centrepiece for matches played there.
Academy director Alex Inglethorpe said: “It’s a big statement.
“The owners have embarked on a number of infrastructure projects in recent years with the redevelopment of the two stands at Anfield, building the AXA Training Centre to put us all on one site here at Kirkby, and giving Melwood a facelift for the women’s team to go there.
“We’ve always been patient as an academy, knowing where we sit in the order of things, but now it’s our turn and it’s really exciting.
“We’ve never had a full-size indoor facility before that would match up with a lot of our competitors. While I’m all for toughening them up in the Kirkby wind and rain, there are a lot of days when we have to cancel training or the quality of a session is compromised. It’s going to make a massive difference.”
The club made a roster of developments to its training facilities over the summer, including new floodlights, cages designed specifically for small-sided matches, an athletic development area, a skills area, and a padbol court.
“We’re already reaping the benefits of the changes made this summer,” said Inglethorpe, who has been part of the Reds’ youth set-up since 2012. “It’s important for the boys and their families to see that investment.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]