Rafa’s army for Liverpool’s Premier League domination
While going out and buying the world’s best players is a great way to get the glory you desire, there’s nothing like overseeing the development of a player from a youngster with high potential to a world-class star.
There are several sides in the Premier League with talent-laden academies, but it’s certainly hard to argue with the crop of players that are currently going through Liverpool’s youth/reserve set-up. Last season, Liverpool’s reserve team ran away with the Reserve Premier League North title and then trounced Aston Villa 3-0 to win the Reserve Premier League title.
Among Liverpool’s current crop of up-and-comers are a wealth of players who could not only make an impact for the Reds in the near future, but also for their respective national teams. Here’s a rundown of the players that have the most potential to do so.
Goalkeepers
Liverpool have a trio of goalkeepers who could be first choice for their countries in the near future.
18-year old Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi already has 12 caps for Hungary’s U-19 team, for whom he was the starting keeper for the recent UEFA U-19 championships, and it shouldn’t be long before he’s challenging to be Hungary’s #1. In fact, he received a call-up to the senior squad for a friendly against Croatia in May. There’s a good reason why Liverpool made sure to make his loan deal from MTK Hungaria a permanent one at the end of the transfer window.
He isn’t the only promising keeper on Liverpool’s books though, as 20-year old Bulgarian Nikolay Mihaylov is currently being loaned out to Steve McClaren’s FC Twente side, where he started in their 4-0 Champions League qualifier loss to Arsenal and in their Eredivisie opener against Roda JC. Mihaylov has earned a cap for the Bulgarian senior team, so he has 101 more to go to match his father Borislav, the most capped player in Bulgarian history and the current president of the Bulgarian Football Union.
However, the best of the bunch might be 17-year old Australian-born Dean Bouzanis, who is up for grabs for both Greece and Australia, both of whom he’s represented below senior level (Greece at U-19, Australia at U-17 and U-23). Rafa Benitez has reportedly said he’s the best keeper under 20 in the world, which is pretty high praise, and shows why two countries are trying their best to get him to commit his international future to them.
Defenders
20-year old defender Jack Hobbs has been a regular for League One Leicester City thus far in the new season, and impressive performances could see him get into the frame for England’s U-21 team.
Rafa Benitez has raided South America for top talent, and along with the talents that are already a regular part of the first-team squad, 19-year old Argentine left back Emiliano Insua could be a future regular for his national side. Insua has already made a few appearances for Liverpool’s first team, and he was an integral part of Argentina’s triumph in the U-20 World Cup last year.
Midfielders/Forwards
While the back has a number of top prospects, the midfield and attack boasts a wealth of talents that could hit the big stage at some point.
One of the most notable names is Argentine winger Sebastian Leto, who’s currently trying to overcome his work permit issues to forge a career in Europe, but it‘s much, much more than just him.
Moroccan attacker Nabil El-Zhar has already represented Morocco’s senior team on six occasions, scoring twice, but after primarily playing in the reserves for Liverpool since his signing in 2006, is just now getting a chance to get a regular run-out, having made late sub appearances in four ties this season.
Among the promising English prospects in Liverpool’s midfield/attack is 20-year old Adam Hammill, who has yet to make his first appearance for Liverpool, but has spent the last two seasons on loan getting first-team experience at Dunfermline and Southampton, and he’s on loan at Blackpool this season, where he’s started all four of their Championship ties so far.
The top prospect in Liverpool’s youth system might be Hungarian goal-getter Krisztian Nemeth. It’s far too early to crown him the next Rushie, Fowler, or Owen, as Nemeth has yet to make his first appearance for Liverpool or for Hungary’s senior team, but it’s only a matter of time for both. The 19-year old has been a prolific scorer at every level, and he’s one of several talents that could help Hungary make a push to be more than just a middle-of-the-road side in the coming years.
Along with Nemeth, Liverpool have another promising Hungarian forward in their set-up in 18-year old Andras Simon, who was also in Hungary’s squad for the UEFA U-19 championships with Nemeth and Gulacsi and scored a goal. Along with West Ham summer purchase Balint Bajner (the youngest in the bunch at 17), Hungary has quite the England-based future up front, and that’s not even counting Watford’s Tamas Priskin.
Liverpool signed a couple of talented young forwards earlier this year in French youngster David N’Gog and Danish starlet Nikola Saric. The 17-year old Saric has represented Denmark at U-16, U-17, and U-18 levels, and he was the Danish FA’s U-17 Player of the Year in 2007, while N’Gog made 19 appearances and scored three goals last season for PSG, and he’s also played up to the U-19 level for France.
Joining Saric as part of the Scandinavian contingent in the set-up is 18-year old Swedish attacker Astrit Ajdarevic, who had a very solid scoring record with the Sweden U-17s, and the ‘new Patrik Berger,’ as he’s referred to, is certainly one to watch for the future.
These guys are only a portion of the prospects that Liverpool are bringing along right now, but all in all, if I were to field a team full of these youngsters in an international competition, I’d feel pretty good about my chances to win.
Throw in the likes of Ryan Babel (10 goals last season, already 24 appearances for Holland’s senior team at 21) and Lucas Leiva (more than 30 appearances for Liverpool last season, four caps for Brazil’s senior team), and you’ve got a loaded squad of talents who have time on their side.
Only time will tell as to how well these prospects develop and where their futures lie. It’s not easy to break into a team full of stars, so all of their futures may not lie at Anfield, and logic says that not all of them will pan out, but you can be sure that you will be hearing from several of these names for years to come.
good article… however you fail to mention daniel pacheco and jay spearing, who along with nemeth are probably the three most exciting talents
I agree, good article, but Pacheco definitely should have been mentioned, as he is the second best talent behind Nemeth.
wow I’m scared
you could probably do a similar one on United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Real, Barca and a few other big teams and get similar results. Youth isnt given a chance these days at the top level because teams buy expensive young players that will hold their positions for 5-10 years. Only when you find a real gem like Barca did with Messi but there aren’t too many of those floating around these days.
The thing is Eddie, as Liam says, you could run this for all the top teams. The gap between being a promising teen and actually becoming a star player is huge. I don’t have the stats but something like 1 in 10 sounds reasonable.
If you look at Utd in recent years there has been:
Chadwick, Jones, Richardson, Pique, Spector, Rossi, Thornley, Bardsley, and a host of others that don’t spring to mind. All of these were rated very highly and while they have moved on and 1 or 2 may yet become top players, the truth is that most will not be good enough to play for a ‘top 4′ team.
Currently Utd have:
Campbell, Possebon, Da Silva x 2, Evans, Eagles, Foster, Welbeck, Simpson, Lee Martin and Cathcart. Some have had very promising loan spells and, again, all are highly rated but not many will make the grade at Utd.
Of the ones who have left, many got a reasonable shot at the first team but it became obvious that they wouldn’t make the grade.
Even O’Shea and Fletcher who have travelled that route to the 1st team are not regulars or rated as star players.
Fot Lucas and Babel at Liverpool read Anderson and Nani at Utd. Slightly different here as they were bought as already established talent.
So, a good list at Liverpool for sure but the headline is unlikely to materialise.
I should have added that winning the reserve leagues is not the same indicator it used to be, as most of the top teams farm out a lot of their emerging talent on loan so the reserves are not representative of what is available.
As much as you would like to see talent come through these days, not at Liverpool ofcourse ;), it doesnt get the chance as it used to! Football has changed dramatically since the days of Beckham, Butt, Scholes etc making an effortless transition from Youth Team to Reserves to First Team! There’s too much money, there’s too much expectations from the fan’s, youth does not get a chance! I’ts beggers belief how many players United have let go over this past 4 years that could have developed into top players, but unless they show early signs of maturity and top talent they will not get the chance! Sad state of affairs but it’s facts!
I am confused. Is this article about youth development or poaching ? Only two of the players mentioned in the article are actually English !!
Hmmm…what the article is doing is pointing out how Liverpool is building for the long-term future by bringing in the best players from different countries into their academy.
Yes, you could do the same for other clubs but the approach Rafa has taken (best from each country) is different from United’s or Arsenal’s approach (both have a strong English presence in their youth setups) and Chelsea are, well, they’re Chelsea.
Will Liverpool dominate the Premier League in the future? Probably not, but the youth academy is part of Liverpool’s long-term plans to be in a position to do that. The assumption that they won’t lies in our bias against them or our bias for our own teams more than anything else.
Or it could be because they’re skint and the board doesn’t let Rafa have his way…
Gerardo Bruna, is he still at the club? if so is he still a good potential star?
it is long overdue that Hobbs get a breaktru.
and so now there will be a Poldolskei(spelling)?
gerardo bruna is very higly rated but he is in the youth team
.good article though…….why are you mancs still wailing…