by Arsenal will be relieved that Ian Rush’s natural heir Mohamed Salah is absent for this weekend’s FA Cup third round as they begin their African Cup of Nations quest with Egypt.
They will perhaps be more intrigued to discover that they will likely face a relative of the legendary Welsh striker.
Owen Beck, the left-back recovered from a loan spell at Dundee earlier this week, is Rush’s great-nephew. So impressive was his five-month spell at Dens Park that Liverpool received inquiries from Celtic and Rangers about his availability, and the Scottish Premier League side were devastated to lose the marauding full-back who has been compared to Andy Robertson.
Now, after a series of loan spells that also included Portuguese side Famalicao and Bolton Wanderers, the 21-year-old has a golden opportunity to prove himself at the highest level, claiming a place in the Welsh squad ahead of the Euro 2024 play-offs having received his first senior call-up at the beginning of the season.
As well as reiterating Jurgen Klopp’s insistence that panic buying is not necessary in the current absence of Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, faith in Beck further emphasizes a golden era for Liverpool’s academy.
The early rounds of domestic cups tend to be the natural habitat for a club’s emerging youngsters, and Klopp will surely give more of them valuable experience at the Emirates. He has quietly integrated the under-21s into his first team at a prolific rate, but the cups are not his only domain.
Despite all the understandable focus on the club’s star players, there were six academy graduates in Liverpool’s matchday squad against Newcastle United as Klopp’s side extended their lead in the Premier League on Monday. the night.
The most prominent ones – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah and Caomhin Kelleher – are responsible for ensuring the academy is on track to achieve a record number of minutes in a European and Premier League campaign for Liverpool’s homegrown players .
Alexander-Arnold is one of those rare breeds to follow the path of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as a guaranteed starter. But it is in that group of players who can feature between 40 and 75 per cent of senior matches where Liverpool are also excelling, with Jones and Quansah saving the club mega-millions.
On the threshold below that, Klopp has created a visible path.
Since the merger between Liverpool’s first team and the youth training facility in Kirkby in November 2020, there have been sixteen senior debuts for youth players and there were seven on the pitch as Liverpool beat Toulouse 5-1 in the Europa League this season.
As well as Beck, right-back Conor Bradley and midfielder James McConnell are candidates to face Mikel Arteta’s side this weekend, while Luke Chambers and Calum Scanlon have already made their senior debuts.
It cannot be calculated with 100 per cent accuracy how much Liverpool’s academy has been worth to Klopp over the course of his reign. A figure in the region of £200m would not be excessive considering how much has already been recouped from some of the more recent sales of players such as Harry Wilson to Fulham (£12m), Neco Williams to Nottingham Forest (£17m) , and Ryan Kent to Rangers (£7.5m), to name a few. The combined valuation of Alexander-Arnold and Jones would reach, by a conservative estimate, £150m, although there is no chance of either of them being on the market any time soon.
For context, Manchester City and Chelsea spend approximately £40 million a year on their youth centre. Liverpool costs £12 million per season. The cost metrics extend to Klopp being brave and confident enough to promote many of his under-21 players to his Premier League squad, thus ensuring the training ground is not flooded with backup players recruited by significant transfer fees with massive contracts.
Instead, he’s determined to focus on hungry youngsters who have a lot to prove, with Beck being the latest to get a message about seizing his opportunity.
Like Quansah, Beck’s journey contrasts with that of players such as Alexander-Arnold and Jones, who were promoted without the need for a loan spell. He has matured since the summer, and the misfortune of Robertson and Tsimikas created an unexpected opening. Academy director Alex Inglethorpe and head of recruitment Matt Newbury liaise with elite development coach Vitor Matos. Goalkeeping coach John Achterberg and assistant coach Pep Lijnders will keep Klopp informed about who deserves a closer look.
“It’s very much a collective effort to develop and prepare young players when the time comes to step up,” Inglethorpe says. “But we are incredibly fortunate to have a coach who is incredibly supportive of the academy.”
Beck has already made his senior debut, playing against Preston and Leicester City in the 2022 Carabao Cup before his physical development required short-term moves.
“When players go on loan we want them to learn adaptability, independence and resilience. It’s what we call the AIR program,” says Inglethorpe.
“People think that a loan is only successful if you play games and immediately return to the first team. That is not true. There are many examples of players who have learned a lot in an environment that has been challenging, far from what they are used to and where they know they will be playing under-21 football every week. There are different paths: some do not require a loan, others need several before they are fully developed.”
Whether he plays this weekend or not, the Welsh defender will be under no illusions that he will be Joe Gomez’s back-up until Robertson returns. However, Klopp and Liverpool will hope the resumption of his career at Anfield is proof of the value of meticulous long-term planning and a useful reminder that not all smart January deals demand multimillions in transfer and agent fees.
