Liverpool told they’ve got £300m worth of talent right under their noses

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Liverpool’s current injury troubles have threatened the Reds’ tilt at the Premier League title this season.

Without a number of big names, Liverpool have been forced to turn to youngsters from the academy in recent weeks. Without exception, these prospects coming through have impressed a great deal.

To some, that will have been a surprise. Although they’ve produced stars like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones, the Reds’ academy hasn’t been all that fruitful in recent years.

That now looks like changing, though. Speaking to former graduate Jamie Carragher for The Telegraph, Liverpool academy director Alex Inglethorpe has claimed that the Reds have £300m worth of talent in their youth ranks.

“We’ve been studying it and we estimate there is about £300 million of academy talent in this building,” says Inglethorpe. “That can fluctuate, of course, but if you look at Jarell (Quansah), he is our fourth-choice centre-back this season. He ensured the club did not have to sign another centre-back last summer. What value do you put on that?

“A Premier League squad player is between £15 million–£25 million, and the average Premier League wage is £60,000 a week. So if you have three academy boys on the bench it could save somewhere in the region of £70 million a year.”

Liverpool sitting on a gold mine

If this had been asserted several years ago, then few would have taken it at face value.

Although a number of players have made the odd appearance from the youth teams, few have been able to make sustained progress in Jurgen Klopp’s first-team. But in recent times, this has changed dramatically.

Alexander-Arnold had initially looked like he might be an anomaly coming through to star for the senior side.

Soon though, Jones was breaking in as well, and has now made over 100 appearances.

Discounting the likes of Harvey Elliott, who was brought in almost as a first-teamer already, Quansah and Conor Bradley now look like they could hit that landmark, too.

Beyond that standout pair, this season has also seen debuts given to James McConnell, Luke Chambers, Calum Scanlon and now Jayden Danns.

Of course, we shouldn’t be getting carried away with any of the youngsters. But even if they don’t make it to the first-team permanently, the academy is also there to raise funds for the club.

Having already shown promise, any of that quartet could now be sold on for a very healthy profit, thus saving Liverpool money that way.

With the injuries unabating for the Reds, we’ll surely see more of these terrific talents as the season heads to its conclusion. If they can play a part in success for Liverpool, that £300m could soon be an even higher number.