Klopp was brewing a bigger star than Trent but he left Liverpool for £0

Liverpool have procuded some wonderful gamers from their academy over time, that are actually discovering making their approach within the first staff.

A kind of, Curtis Jones, has turn out to be a key participant underneath Arne Slot this time period, and began the primary recreation of Thomas Tuchel’s reign as England supervisor.

There are additionally a number of notable academy graduates in defence who’ve had a component to play within the first staff at Anfield; they embody effervescent right-back Conor Bradley and centre-back Jarell Quansah.

Nevertheless, probably the most notable academy graduate within the first-team is Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sadly, he may very well be set to depart the membership on the finish of the season.

Why Trent has determined to depart Liverpool

Alexander-Arnold has executed all of it in a Liverpool shirt. In 349 video games for his boyhood membership, he’s scored 22 objectives and grabbed 87 assists, serving to his facet to their first-ever Premier League title and the Champions League in 2018/19.

He has been one of the crucial inventive gamers in Premier League historical past, notably reaching double figures for assists throughout three separate top-flight campaigns, registering 12 in 2018/19, 13 in 2019/20 and one other dozen in 2021/22.

But, he won’t add many extra issues to the unbelievable legacy he has constructed at Anfield. The 26-year-old is on the verge of signing for Actual Madrid, based on extremely respected journalist David Ornstein.

In a current report, he defined that Los Blancos are ‘working to shut’ the signing of the England worldwide, which won’t value them a switch price given his contract will expire on the finish of the season.

This may be a seismic loss for Liverpool, who would want to discover a solution to change considered one of their most essential attacking shops. Ornstein reviews that Madrid have been monitoring the right-back for 2 years and have been making an attempt since January to persuade him to hitch the membership.

So, why is he departing? Properly, it is definitely not for the cash. The Liverpudlian at the moment earns £180k-per-week in Merseyside and based on talkSPORT, he is set to earn £220k-per-week on the Santiago Bernabeu, solely a small elevate.

It may be in an try to spice up his personal profile. Final yr the right-back admitted he needed to win the Ballon d’Or, and Madrid might give him the platform to just do that contemplating they’re serial Champions League winners. Europe’s elite competitors is commonly seen because the catalyst for the sport’s high gamers to be topped the most effective participant on the earth.

However, the place did all of it start? Properly, within the youth ranks at Liverpool, in fact. It was throughout the infancy of his profession that he bumped into among the best to return by the youth system, though some, as is the case on this state of affairs, do not make the grade at Anfield.

Liverpool academy star was forward of Trent

Liverpool’s academy has at all times been a wealthy supply of high quality gamers, no extra so than when Alexander-Arnold got here by the ranks.

Making his Liverpool U21s debut in 2016, a 3-0 defeat towards Manchester Metropolis, the full-back was quickly joined in the identical facet by Ben Woodburn. It was throughout that 2016/17 marketing campaign the place each gamers began making waves within the academy.

Woodburn regarded like a critical expertise and was already being talked about extra usually than Trent, largely as a result of he’d scored eight instances and assisted six objectives in simply 15 Premier League 2 outings.

It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the Welshman began making an affect at first-team degree too, truly making his Premier League debut a month earlier than Alexander-Arnold did, that includes in a 2-0 win over Sunderland, aged 17 years and one month.

So huge was the ahead’s potential that he actualy holds a prestigious report at Anfield. He’s the membership’s youngest ever goalscorer, discovering the again of the web towards Leeds United within the League Cup on the age of 17 years and 45 days. He beat Michael Owen’s long-standing report within the course of.

Nevertheless, it did not work out for the prodigy. In whole, the Liverpool academy graduate made simply 11 appearances for the membership, together with his strike towards the Whites his solely objective for the membership. Woodburn’s remaining first-team look got here on the ultimate day of the 2017/18 Premier League season.

The Wales worldwide went on 4 separate mortgage spells throughout his time at Liverpool, however by no means actually managed to settle at one membership. In 2022, he departed Anfield on a free switch, the place he first performed for Preston North Finish and, most lately, Salford Metropolis.

For the Class of ’92-owned membership, Woodburn has loved probably the most profitable spell of soccer in his profession. In 26 appearances, he’s scored three objectives and grabbed three assists, the identical as he bought at North Finish in 64 appearances.

Sadly, Woodburn didn’t dwell as much as the expectation of him at Anfield. At one stage, it regarded like he might go on to have an extended and profitable profession at Liverpool, simply as Alexander-Arnold has executed, however it was to not be.