Perhaps more than there has been in a long time, Liverpool are developing a cascade of promising academy talent at present, with more than a few projected to earn opportunities in the senior set-up.
When Jurgen Klopp took the helm in 2015, Liverpool was not the mighty outfit it had always been, and despite an enthralling title race during the 2013/14 season, the 2013 League Cup was all the club had to boast since winning the Champions League and FA Cup in the most resounding circumstances across 2004/05 and 2005/06.
That all changed upon the German's appointment, and with it, a comprehensive upgrade at the club from the players on the pitch to the atmosphere suffusing the entire institution.
Trophy
Times won
Premier League
x1
Champions League
x1
FA Cup
x1
Carabao Cup
x1
FIFA Club World Cup
x1
UEFA Super Cup
x1
Community Shield
x1
Individual Honours
FIFA Best Club Coach
x2
PL Manager of the Season
x2
The youth academy has been among the facets to receive an upgrade; the formative fold on the red half of Merseyside has never been the most prolific, but the likes of Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold are two shining examples of the quality that can be nurtured.
The latter was promoted to the Reds' vice-captain in the summer following the departures of Jordan Henderson and James Milner, and while his cementation into the first team was something of an anomaly over the recent years, there is currently a wealth of precocious quality just waiting to impress among the seniors.
Who is Liverpool's biggest academy talent?
Obviously, Alexander-Arnold is the cream of the crop and has now completed 278 matches for his boyhood club, winning the whole gamut of silverware under Klopp's wing and considered the most valuable full-back in the world by Football Transfers' algorithm.
But he is also joined by Curtis Jones as one of the homemade Scousers currently thriving in Liverpool's system; Jones was contentiously sent off against Tottenham Hotspur recently but has been heralded by the likes of The Athletic's James Pearce for his "flying" start to the campaign.
Of course, lower down the line there are the likes of 17-year-old Ben Doak – who has already made seven senior showings for Liverpool – Kaide Gordon, who is pushing to add to his maiden goal for the Reds as he nears return from a long-term injury, and the prodigious Stefan Bajcetic, whose impact speaks for itself after impressing among a struggling side last term.
One of the newest names to capture the awe of the Anfield masses belongs to Jarell Quansah, a tough-tackling and composed centre-half who has already made his mark this year.
How good is Jarell Quansah?
Spending the second half of the 2022/23 campaign out on loan with League One side Bristol Rovers, starting 15 matches and leaving manager Joey Barton claiming that "the sky's the limit", Quansah established the base of his skill set before returning to Merseyside in the summer and proving his worth as a valuable squad option for Klopp's ambitious side.
Against Newcastle United in August, Liverpool were a man and goal down in the second half, and when Darwin Nunez entered from the bench to wreak havoc and score a brace to clinch the match, Quansah was among the action and crucial in negating the Magpies' threat.
Hailed as "an imposing centre-back" by Scouted Football after that first display, Quansah has since followed it up with three further showings, dominant against Wolverhampton Wanderers on his first Premier League start, completing 96% of his passes and winning five of his eight contested duels, and at ease against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup – where he earned an assist for his troubles.
Last year, Liverpool fell by the wayside and were inexcusably shoddy, trudging to a fifth-placed league finish and subsequently missing out on Champions League football this year.
The sapped midfield was ostensibly the crux of the issue but the defence was also culpable for an utter loss of its formerly combative and cohesive nature.
Klopp, rightfully, focused on the reconstruction of the central midfield and looks to have done so with aplomb, but this was completed at the expense of a new centre-back despite the desires of the Liverpool fanbase.
Quansah's arrival changes that, in the short-term at least, with his quality on the ball and precision in the tackle tailor-made for a role in the Reds' first-team, and when called upon, the "absolutely phenomenal" prospect – as dubbed by Alexander-Arnold – really does look to provide the tools the club needs to secure seasonal success.
He might be the talk of the town right now, but Quansah might not actually be the most promising prospect on the club's books, with a shot-stopping sensation currently biding his time beneath the surface in Marcelo Pitaluga.
Who is Marcelo Pitaluga?
Pitaluga, aged 20, is a Brazilian goalkeeper with a weight of expectation after impressing during his formative years, and while he will not be ready for a prominent role for some time, he looks like a talent of first-class potential.
Signed from his homeland Brazilian side Fluminense in 2020 when he was just 17-years-old, Pitaluga has always been rated highly and is now creeping closer to a first-team debut, hoping to emulate his compatriot Alisson Becker in securing a starring position between the sticks at Anfield.
Praised for his "excellent" progress by Liverpool youth coach Barry Lewtas, he's made 37 appearances for Liverpool's youth teams and has kept 11 clean sheets, and given that he is a regular in first-team training, the South American shot-stopper is clearly held in high regard, with a route to the top expected.
Alisson has been incredible for Liverpool and Klopp and co will hope it remains that way for years to come, and while the phenom is only 30-years-old, his influence will not last forever and it's perhaps prudent that a star of Pitaluga's ilk is slowly and meticulously being prepped for a future role.
Brazilian journalist Leonardo Bertozzi remarked at his saves against Mohamed Salah in a recent training clip gone viral, which clearly shows that he has qualities capable of making one of the Premier League's deadliest goalscorers have to click into fourth gear to bypass his goal.
Ultimately, he will not cement a regular starting berth yet, but the talent is there on display for all to see, and Liverpool might just hold the second coming of their Brazilian sensation in the ranks already.
