Remember the names: Jayden Danns, Lewis Koumas and Bobby Clark. But you may already know them; Not because all three youngsters played for Liverpool on Wednesday night, with Danns scoring twice and Koumas scoring the first goal in a 3-0 win over Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round.
All three have famous fathers and are the sons of former Premier League professionals Neil Danns, Jason Koumas and Lee Clark respectively. If that sounds like something remarkable, it’s not exclusive to Liverpool – Manchester City’s academy has the Heskey twins Jaden and Reigan, while Darren’s sons Jack and Tyler Fletcher are at Manchester United – but Liverpool’s academy seems to be dad There is a group of potential customers with connections. Keyrol Figueroa, son of former Wigan defender Maynor, and Prince Kobe Cissé, son of 2005 Champions League winner Djibril, are also heading there, while Marcus Neill, son of former Australia international Lucas, recently left to join Sunderland. .
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What’s behind this trend in Liverpool? Alex Inglethorpe, the club’s renowned academy director, told the Guardian that signing the children of former professionals was “not a strategy” but that it was a combination of factors.
“If former players settle in the area, the club could be an obvious point of contact for them,” says Inglethorpe. “As the son of a former football player, it is a natural assumption that they will grow up in a football environment and will probably be interested in the sport. This, combined with athletic genes, means it’s no surprise they ended up doing well, given that their father was able to play professional football. But we have between 160-180 boys in the academy, so that’s a small percentage of the number of people we actually have.”
Figueroa will likely be the next player on this list to try to break into Jurgen Klopp’s plans. The 17-year-old striker, who was born in Honduras like his father but is a youth national player of the USA, plays in the under-18 team. Cissé is also only 15 years old as a striker, so he is unlikely to join Danns, Koumas and Clark in the first team this season.
“I’m talking [those five] “Regularly on and off the field,” says Inglethorpe. “I try not to talk about it unless they want to talk about their father because I think it can be a burden. I don’t want to add to the burden that they are probably acting on their own to achieve the same or more than their father did. They are people with their own rights.
Inglethorpe describes the junior academy for eight to 13-year-olds: “It’s like a really good Sunday League club. Great pitches, coaches are really good, the kit is lovely! But in the senior academy it’s different. How do you turn a kid that age into a 14-year-old with the data and the nutrition?” “Messages are changing.”
Maybe this message is already ingrained in the sons of famous football players? Maybe there is an inherent understanding of what it takes to be successful at the elite level and the sacrifices required in fitness, rest, social plans and nutrition? “I’m happy that they’re young players, young men,” Inglethorpe replies. “Jayden comes from the ‘pre-academic’ phase when he was six or seven years old. Figgy came from folk football at the age of 11-12. Bobby joined us at the age of 16 via Newcastle. “It’s nice that they all have a slightly different story.”
Clark’s transfer from Newcastle caused headlines, with Liverpool reportedly spending £1.5 million on the midfielder. His father Lee told how Liverpool signed the deal. “When Bobby decided to leave Newcastle he held talks with four or five like-minded clubs. [a fee] “With Newcastle,” Lee told the Echo last year. “He was blown away by how deep Liverpool knew about him and why they believed he could be a first-team player. He’s also seen close family friends like Terry McDermott since he was a kid and “He understood what Liverpool meant.”
The story of how Clark came to Liverpool appears to be indirectly related to his father, but Inglethorpe says Lee was “not involved” in contract negotiations. “He was there as a father, but he was extremely respectful. If your son goes to work at a bank tomorrow, you don’t meet the bank manager and ask if he’ll be at the cash register or somewhere in the back, do you? There comes a time when you have to leave them alone.
“I don’t know if these five [sons of former players] We are better equipped to meet the demands of modern football. I have always believed that talent can make a person 16 years old, and character can make a person 35 years old. The level is incredibly high to get into the Liverpool XI competing for domestic and European cups. Keep working hard, try not to look at others, and be patient. Same as every other boy, regardless of parentage.”
The role of parents is extremely important for young players, regardless of ancestry. “The majority of parents we work with are respectful in trusting the coaches’ decisions,” Inglethorpe says. “Of course, not every parent is happy. But many also understand that it is difficult. It is not data driven. You can take a test in school and pass a certain percentage of that test. It’s not up for debate. But football is about ideas and there is a lot of crystal ball perspective on how this kid will play in the future. And sometimes we will get it wrong.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold]’s parents were not professional football players, but he received many messages about resilience. I read an interview of Robin van Persie where he talked about a conversation he had with his son. [Shaqueel, at PSV’s academy] It’s about not letting her become a victim. Not letting your son feel like a loser, not blaming anyone else: his coach or his teammates. It’s about learning to be proactive. “This was very interesting.”
Another man who remains proactive is Klopp. It may take a village to develop and coach a young professional footballer to elite level, but Klopp’s trust in these youngsters feels unparalleled, even in some of the biggest games of the season.
“I’m very lucky to be at Liverpool at a time when there are so many first-team staff who have a real curiosity and enthusiasm for young players,” says Inglethorpe. “Jurgen will talk to his team, go and watch those players, talk about those players and there is one thing that distinguishes him: he will play those young players. He is brave enough to give them a chance, and not just in unimportant games.”