How Liverpool raided rivals - including a Chelsea star loved by John Terry who made his Reds first-team debut aged just 16 - to build an academy dream team for the future
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There is a framed picture on the walls of Liverpool's training base in Kirkby which hangs purposefully in the areas frequented by academy stars. Taken just before the turn of the millennium, the photograph acts as the ultimate inspiration for the stars of tomorrow.
![[Ngumoha is continuing Liverpool's proud academy legacy after a collection of young player starred in their Carabao Cup triumph last season]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/11/15/93991073-14273755-image-a-15_1736608438280.jpg)
Squinting down the camera in the snap were seven homegrown players: Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, David Thompson, Dominic Matteo, Jamie Carragher and, then a fresh-faced teenager, Steven Gerrard. Last year, Liverpool's media team sensed an opportunity to recreate a similar image with new protagonists. After the Reds won the Carabao Cup with a youthful team at Wembley, 11 of the latest academy success stories posed with the final trophy of the Jurgen Klopp era.
![[This framed picture of several Liverpool legends hangs at the club's training base in the areas frequented by academy stars (Top row L-R: Steve McManaman, Jamie Carragher, Dominic Matteo, Steven Gerrard. Bottom row L-R: Michael Owen, David Thompson, Robbie Fowler)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/12/00/89563997-13838821-image-a-21_1726096266113.jpg)
Trent Alexander-Arnold in a knee-brace – he did not play that day – is the best known, but also present were Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Jayden Danns, Stefan Bajcetic and Trey Nyoni to name just five. Who knows how iconic that image may one day be.
![[Stefan Bajcetic was signed just a matter of hours before the strict Brexit rules became law]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/12/00/89564585-13838821-image-a-24_1726096487012.jpg)
Mail Sport dubbed them the 'Kindergarten Kop' while others called them 'Klopp's Kids'. It might not have carried the global significance of Klopp winning a sixth European Cup crown or a first Premier League title, but that trophy meant just as much to many inside the club.
![[Ngumoha turned down a better financial package at Chelsea to move to Anfield and has now broken into the first team]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/12/01/89563995-13838821-Rio_Ngumoha_16_turned_down_a_better_financial_package_at_Chelsea-a-3_1726099271293.jpg)
Since then, the Reds have added another star to their academy after raiding Chelsea for exciting winger Rio Ngumoha. Arne Slot threw the 16-year-old into his starting XI for his first-team debut in Liverpool's 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Saturday, while Danns came off the bench to score his third FA Cup goal for the club, and Nyoni got more minutes under hie belt. Liverpool's eye for young talent seems to only be getting better.
![[Trey Nyoni, 17, excelled during pre-season and is also getting minutes for Liverpool's first team]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/09/12/00/89564001-13838821-image-m-26_1726096504052.jpg)
