Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor Dunn

The two players who could save Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp millions in the transfer market

Trent Alexander-Arnold is a proud product of Liverpool’s Academy and has made an incredible start to his career at Anfield having already played in both a Champions League final and a World Cup semi-final.

At just 20 years old he’s now in the final stages of one of the most intense domestic title races in history while also gearing up to face Barcelona in the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition.

The young right-back has achieved so much in his career already and will undoubtedly have so much more coming his way.

See how Liverpool's youngsters rated in Youth Cup final victory HERE

This is a player all young Reds prodigies are looking up to - and with good reason - but this is also a player two young Reds showed they could emulate with their performances in the FA Youth Cup final against Man City.

Neco Williams playing at right-back, the same as Alexander-Arnold does for the first team, saw him come under real pressure at the Academy Stadium from a very talented Adrian Bernabe.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru beats Neco Williams during the FA Youth Cup Final between Manchester City and Liverpool at Manchester City Football Academy on April 25, 2019 ((Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

However, he stood up to the challenge really well and was consistently alert to any danger when the home side poured players down the left.

His defending and positional play was excellent but he also gave the Reds an outlet further up the pitch, driving Barry Lewtas' side on down Liverpool 's right - just as Alexander-Arnold does for Jurgen Klopp's team.

Bobby Duncan comes back to haunt Man City as Liverpool clinch dramatic FA Youth Cup win  

Williams created real attacking danger time and again as he brought the ball out from defence and played it up to the prolific front two in Bobby Duncan and Paul Glatzel, but also never gave up running back and was always there to help clear the lines in defence.

On the other side of the back four was Yasser Larouci and, in a similar style to Liverpool first-team left-back Andy Robertson, he was excellent.

Adrian Bernabe is tackled by Yasser Larouci during the FA Youth Cup Final between Manchester City and Liverpool at Manchester City Football Academy on April 25, 2019 (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Larouci has been transformed this season from a winger into a defender and Academy staff have worked a lot with him on the defensive side of his game.

He performed excellently and almost found the opening goal with a deflected strike from outside of the area which saw Louie Moulden in the City net scrambling to tip it over the bar and then he hit a cracking effort from 25 yards with 10 minutes to go in the second which whistled just past the left-hand post.

The youngster also covered really well when the home side looked to counter and his running up and down the left-hand side was unrelenting.

It would be hard to argue a case to say there was anybody better than Larouci on the pitch from either side as the young Reds fought to bring the FA Youth Cup back to Merseyside.

Liverpool could need back up in both left and right-back positions come the summer, and there has been a lot of chatter about who Klopp could bring it.

But it appears Liverpool have real talent coming through their ranks in those positions already.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.