Working with Iraola, car clauses and hope - the Liverpool academy approach

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Working with Iraola, car clauses and hope - the Liverpool academy approachImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Alex Inglethorpe (left) has been Liverpool's academy director since 2014ByFootball reporterAtAXA Training CentreOne of the first things you notice in Alex Inglethorpe's office at Liverpool's AXA Training Centre is a framed image gifted by Trent Alexander-Arnold.It is a picture from 2019 of the academy director and player watching a game together. Alexander-Arnold left for a new challenge at Real Madrid last year, after 20 years on Merseyside, but his story is one of inspiration for everyone that enters Liverpool's academy.He joined as a six-year-old in 2004 and went on to win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, Uefa Super Cup and the Fifa Club World Cup with Liverpool."The ideal for any academy, and certainly for us, is wanting young players - and hopefully they're local players - to improve the first team and in doing so, they come and win trophies," says Inglethorpe."At Liverpool the bar is high, so to have a player capable of winning everything that you could possibly win is a dream."Inglethorpe and his team oversee the development of younger players and ensure there is alignment between the academy and the first team.One of the phrases used is 'the first team pitch is only 300 metres away from the academy building in Kirkby, but the journey might take 10 years to get there'.Under new boss Andoni Iraola, players like Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni, Lewis Koumas and James McConnell, who have spent time at the academy, have all featured this season."We were fortunate because of how the calendar worked, with players still at the World Cup and a delayed return.

First impressions matter," says Inglethorpe."Often before you've kicked a ball, the car you drive or the watch you wear can have an impact on how you're thought of - and that could be first team staff or players looking at you."We've believed in the idea of 'earning the right' for some time."Last week, Manchester United signed 16-year-old winger Isaac Konde from Liverpool on a one-year scholarship followed by a five-year professional deal. There's always been movement of players but it feels a little more extreme now."When there's a clamour for talent - fees, wages and everything else will shift accordingly, so it's dealing with what we have and adapting to a new situation."Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Trent Alexander-Arnold (right) spent 20 years at Liverpool before leaving in 2025Do Liverpool need a Scouser in the first team?When Curtis Jones moved to Inter Milan in the summer, it left Liverpool without a first team player born in the city.

But if not and a lad comes from Warrington or wherever, that's not a problem," Inglethorpe insists.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Liverpool's academy players celebrate their Carabao Cup win in 2024Getting proven wrong by Jarell QuansahOne of the most challenging aspects of Inglethorpe's role is letting players go. It was an incredible show of belief," says Inglethorpe.On another wall in Inglethorpe's office is a magnetic board with headshots of every player in the academy on the left and the first team squad on the right.