With former Liverpool prospect Nathan Eccleston reported to be on trial in Hungary, it got us thinking about some other talents to pass through Melwood.
Plenty have worked their way into the first team, but for every Steven Gerrard there’s a Damien Plessis, and for every Raheem Sterling there’s a Suso.
Eccleston, once a teenage striking sensation turning out for the Reds in Europe, was part of a youth team that brought hope to Merseyside by reaching the 2009 FA Youth Cup final.
We’ve taken a look at five of the players who started that final against Arsenal (Ecclestone began both legs on the bench) to find out what has happened in the six-and-a-half years since.
Dean Bouzanis – Goalkeeper
“The money is really good. Dean’s father is a solicitor and even he is amazed at what we negotiated.”
Those were the words of agent Terry Palapanis when Aussie teenager Bouzanis agreed a move to England in 2007.
Perhaps we shouldn’t make too much of the fact that he didn’t play a Premier League minute for the club – Pepe Reina kept more high-profile keepers on the bench as he remained an ever-present for every single game of four consecutive seasons.
Bouzanis stuck around until 2011, before returning to Anfield during a spell with Oldham Athletic, but is now back in his homeland with Melbourne City.
Jack Robinson – Full-back
Robinson became Liverpool’s youngest ever Premier League player at the age of 16, replacing Ryan Babel in a goalless draw at Hull in May 2010.
He would eventually lose that record to Jerome Sinclair, while the young Englishman struggled for game time under both Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish.
A return to first-team action would come Robinson’s way when Brendan Rodgers took over as manager and gave him starts in the run to the Europa League last 32 in 2012/13, but loan spells followed before he was eventually sold to QPR in 2014.
Now 22 years old, Robinson is yet to make his competitive debut for the London club due to a serious knee injury suffered while on loan at Huddersfield.
Dani Ayala – Centre-back
Andre Wisdom is the only member of that youth team squad to still ply his trade in the Premier League, but Ayala could soon be joining him.
The Spaniard played just five times for Liverpool – all under Rafa Benitez – before moving permanently to Norwich in 2011.
When the Canaries were relegated in 2014, a loan spell at Middlesbrough became permanent and he was a key component of the team that made last season’s Championship play-off final – ironically losing to Norwich.
Aitor Karanka’s team have continued to thrive this season and are in contention for automatic promotion, potentially giving Ayala his third crack at Premier League football at the age of 25.
Tom Ince – Midfield
Widely thought to be one of the best players in that Liverpool youth team, Ince has attracted the attention of European giants Inter and Monaco since leaving Anfield in 2011.
A top performer at Blackpool, he scored in the Tangerines’ play-off final defeat to West Ham at the end of his first season, but his eventual Premier League return would not come with the Lancashire club.
Instead, Ince got a taste of the top-flight with Crystal Palace (during a brief loan spell) and Hull City, but it is only now that he’s starting to play his best football again.
Like Ayala, the 23-year-old is pushing for a top-flight return – his Derby County team are third in the table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough.
Alex Kacaniklic – Winger
Only Roy Hodgson can explain why talented winger Kacaniklic was handed on a platter to Fulham so Liverpool could secure the services of Paul Konchesky.
In fact, the Swede wasn’t even the only player used as bait in the deal – fellow Youth Cup goalscorer Lauri Dalla Valle (now playing in League 1 with Crewe) also made the move to West London.
Kacaniklic had some stand-out moments for the Cottagers in 2012/13 and 2013/14, but his career has stalled somewhat since the club were relegated from the Premier League.
He’s now back in the capital after a loan spell with FC Copenhagen failed to bring a permanent move away, while he hasn’t turned out for his country since October 2014 and seems unlikely to feature in the Euro 2016 squad.
With Jurgen Klopp giving youth a chance, Liverpool fans will hope some of the current batch of youngsters can make more of a first-team impact than what looked for a while like a golden generation.
How many of the XI that saw off Exeter in their FA Cup replay will still be at Anfield in five years’ time, we wonder.
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