Liverpool "estimate" youth talent is currently worth £300M

Liverpool have £300 million worth of academy talent at the club, academy director Alex Inglethorhpe has boldly claimed in an interview with the Telegraph.

On Wednesday, Luton Town visit Anfield and while the final score of 4-1 suggests they were battered, they put up a brave fight but just couldn't match the hosts' intensity and quality.

What makes that so impressive is that Liverpool had eight players 21 or younger in their squad and still managed to play with the same identity and quality.

So perhaps Inglethorpe's claim isn't so mental.

Liverpool academy director estimates youth talent is currently worth £300M

Speaking in an interview with the Telegraph, Inglethorpe said Liverpool's youth talent is worth around £300 million although he does admit that value will fluctuate from time to time.

“There is always a lot of understandable emphasis on the number of appearances by academy players, but from a purely business perspective no-one talks about the spending," Inglethorpe said.

“There are some academies spending £40 million a year. We are nearer £13 million. If you think of £130 million over 10 years, what is the return on that investment? We have sold about £160 million worth of academy talent.

“We’ve been studying it and we estimate there is about £300 million of academy talent in this building. That can fluctuate, of course, but if you look at Jarell (Quansah), he is our fourth-choice centre-back this season. He ensured the club did not have to sign another centre-back last summer. What value do you put on that?

“A Premier League squad player is between £15 million–£25 million, and the average Premier League wage is £60,000 a week. So if you have three academy boys on the bench it could save somewhere in the region of £70 million a year.”

Jurgen Klopp's impact on the Liverpool academy has been profound

Since Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool in 2015, the club's academy has been turned around completely.

Not only do the youth players now train at the same facility as the senior players, they follow the same philosophy as Klopp's team does so when they make the step up to the first team, they don't need to be caught up to speed tactically. Just physically and mentally.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is his most famous Academy graduate at Anfield with the Scouser a generational talent. Only 25, he has already completed club football with his boyhood club and is now a leader for the leaders of Jayden Danns coming through the ranks.

The 18-year-old made his Premier League debut for the Reds this week and he almost grabbed an assist against Luton within moments of being introduced from the bench in the 89th minute.