Inglethorpe on Scouser debate, Quansah gamble and the 15-year-old to watch

The Scouser question

When Curtis Jones moved to Inter Milan in the summer, it left Liverpool without a first team player born in the city.

"I acknowledge the fact that ideally Liverpool would love to have a team full of Scousers," says Inglethorpe. "But it is testament to the supporters that if you adopt the characteristics of a Scouser - and you only have to see the likes of Bill Shankly, Kenny Dalglish and others over the years - you can be treated as one of their own.

"So if you are fearless, passionate, play tough and demonstrate those qualities, then it doesn't matter if you've come from an L1 postcode and got a purple bin or not. That's the beauty of the club and the crowd."

One name to keep an eye on is 15-year-old Luca Eden. The midfielder was born in the Wirral and has already represented England at youth level. Last month, he became the youngest player to feature in the Uefa Youth League for Liverpool, beating a record previously held by Joshua Abe, Rio Ngumoha and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

"We've got plenty of Scousers in the academy and plenty who I think will play for the club. But if not and a lad comes from Warrington or wherever, that's not a problem," Inglethorpe insists.

Getting proven wrong by Quansah

One of the most challenging aspects of Inglethorpe's role is letting players go. Liverpool released eight players from their academy set-up at the end of last season.

Inglethorpe explains how the likes of Harry Kane, who was coming through the academy at Spurs when he was a youth coach there, and Trent Alexander-Arnold weren't necessarily the best in their respective youth cohorts.

"At that stage, there's too many unknowns. You can't predict how players will react to adversity and natural bumps in the road," says Inglethorpe. "I've been proven wrong so many times in the past. A good example would be Jarell [Quansah] - someone who was always liked and never in danger of leaving but probably never seen in the top three in the group."

Quansah left Liverpool for Bayer Leverkusen in 2025 and has since won eight caps for England.

"There are no certainties - the point of the academy is to allow them to fulfil their potential," says Inglethorpe. "Sometimes players need to leave to gain an opportunity. There are lots of lovely examples of boys leaving and having good careers, and I'm not convinced they would have had the same career if they stayed at Liverpool.

"The linear and most productive way is to break in, but there's different pathways that can lead back to playing for Liverpool - and that is the dream."