Liverpool under-23’s coach Barry Lewtas has said that he doesn’t plan on leaving the club anytime soon.
Asked by The Athletic whether he would like to take on a senior management role, Lewtas claimed that he’s happy at Liverpool.
“I am not one to look too far ahead or take my eye off things. I have been on quite a journey at Liverpool and I do not feel like that journey is over,” said the youth coach.
“I’m motivated, and I have a purpose — sometimes there is no reason to mess with that.”
Lewtas also highlighted how Jurgen Klopp’s interest in bringing young players into the first-team is influencing his thinking.
“I feel like this is a special time. The first-team coaches are so interested in our players,” he said. “That is such a massive motivating factor for me.”
“Who knows where it goes further down the line. But right now I am still focused on my development and my players.”
Lewtas is right to mention the first-team’s interest in his players. This season alone Liverpool have given senior debuts to the likes of Harvey Blair, Melkamu Frauendorf, Owen Beck, James Morris, Max Woltman and Tyler Morton.
The under-23’s are seemingly in safe hands, then. Hopefully there can be a few more adding their names to that list in the near future.
Focussing on youth
Liverpool are lucky to have Klopp for so many reasons. One of those is the faith that he puts in young players.
The most notable example is of course Trent Alexander-Arnold. Klopp identified Trent as a player who could make the step up to the first-team and he has since moulded him into the best right-back on the planet.
Beyond the number 66, Klopp has also overseen Curtis Jones’ impressive transition into a first-team stalwart.
Rhys Williams, Kaide Gordon and Harvey Elliott are three more players who have been given extended runs in the first-team by the manager.
Clearly, there is a focus on giving young players a platform. As a result, it isn’t a surprise to see Liverpool taking an interest in signing all of the top three from Goal’s NXGN top 50 wonderkids in football list, released yesterday.
Although those youngsters would come with hefty price-tags, it still shows that Klopp is willing to take a punt on youth.
Liverpool’s academy went through too many years of being particularly unproductive. In the past, the club preferred to focus on bringing players into the youth teams from abroad and this seemed to hamper the development of others.
But with Brexit rules putting paid to this, Liverpool have had to put trust in their homegrown youngsters. They have already reaped the rewards from that. With Lewtas set to stay on, there will surely be more debuts to be had next season.
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