Andoni Iraola‘s arrival will give Liverpool’s academy prospects a much-needed boost after Arne Slot was accused of overlooking the club’s young talent.
What did for Arne Slot? The now infamous end-of-season review conducted by Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards will no doubt have been exhaustive.
In surveying the wreckage, Liverpool’s hierarchy will have pored over the data to determine just how far mitigating circumstances went to explain the dross served up across the 2025/26 season.
Given the apparent about turn, however – the Dutchman’s sacking came in the wake of various press briefings that he was here to stay – supporters have naturally speculated on what exactly forced their hands.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 3, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot during the FA Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Were the analytics that damning? Did audible and growing discontent in the stands leave FSG with little choice? Had Mo Salah‘s Instagram intervention proven the head coach had lost the dressing room?
Those running the show at Anfield (and in Boston) pride themselves on being the smartest people in the room. As such, it is likely a combination of those factors and more convinced them, reluctantly, that change was required.
One area largely overlooked by pundits is the recent abandonment of youth.
Indeed, amid the fallout one line from journalist David Lynch was somewhat lost amid the noise. Writing on his Substack, the reporter revealedL “Academy staff were privately sharing frustration that Slot did not seem to be immersing himself in all things Liverpool, rarely paying attention to goings-on there.”
The numbers, as well as the eye test, certainly back that assertion.
Why Arne Slot didn’t pick young players
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, April 25, 2026: Liverpool substitutes (L-R) Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni and Ryan Gravenberch on the bench before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
From the very start of his tenure Slot seemingly had no interest in blooding youngsters, overseeing a brutal cull that first summer. This was in stark contrast to his predecessor, who had famously won the League Cup with a team consisting largely of GCSE students.
Admittedly, it’s never as simple as just throwing in the kids. Liverpool exists to win trophies and Slot certainly understood that assignment, stating on several occasions how high the benchmark was to play both in his team and at this level.
While nobody would (or did) question high standards when the going is good, a seeming disinterest in the academy became another stick to beat the manager with once that Midas Touch deserted him.
Young LFC Academy Products: Starts Under Slot
|||
|---|---|
|Jarell Quansah|13starts|
|Rio Ngumoha|10starts|
|Trey Nyoni|4starts|
|Tyler Morton|3starts|
|James McConnell|2starts|
|Calvin Ramsay|1start|
|Kieran Morrison|1start|
|Vitezslav Jaros|1start|
|Jayden Danns|1start|
While form can fluctuate, a pathway to the first team should remain constant at a club like Liverpool. Only by bringing through a mixture of local and international talent can you hope to attract the next wave.
This isn’t to say everyone training under the watchful eye of Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe will go on to play at the very highest level.
Make no mistake, for every Trent Alexander-Arnold there is a Jon Otsemobor, but there should always be opportunity for the former to stake their claim.
How else can you hope to beat out competition from the likes of Everton and both Manchester clubs when scouring the local catchment area? Perish the thought but the next Gerrard could easily commit to our blue brethren if he and his advisors consider the path to Anfield blocked.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - Friday, December 15, 2017: Liverpool's Under-18 manager Steven Gerrard watches with former player Steve McManaman and Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe during the Under-23 FA Premier League 2 Division 1 match between Liverpool and Swansea City at the Kirkby Academy. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
If approached correctly and sensitively, though, the brightest talents can still be attracted. Moreover, those progressing through the ranks but ultimately falling short should still earn Liverpool a transfer fee and pure profit in PSR terms.
The likes of Hughes and Edwards will naturally have that bottom line in mind and will have grown twitchy at the thought of any conveyor belt being effectively cut off.
A lack of faith in the academy
So how invested was Slot in youth and how does it compare to both his predecessor and successor alike?
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - Wednesday, January 29, 2025: Liverpool's substitute Kieran Morrison on the bench before the UEFA Champions League Matchday 8 game between PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool FC at the Philips Stadion. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
In his debut, title-winning season, the Dutchman entrusted 11 players that started the campaign aged 21 or younger. Between them, this group accounted for 104 appearances across all competitions.
For context, that is a significant drop on the previous year when Jurgen Klopp afforded 194 runouts to 16 players. This essentially equates to a 47 percent decrease.
It’s important to place the two seasons in perspective, however.
Klopp’ last dance was one that featured the Europa League as opposed to Champions League football. We also went deeper in both domestic cup competitions, winning one, which allowed/necessitated for greater rotation.
Even so, the difference is marked.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 25, 2024: Liverpool's Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns and Trey Nyoni celebrate with the trophy after the Football League Cup Final match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Wembley Stadium. Liverpool won 1-0 after extra-time. (Photo by Peter Powell/Propaganda)
It is even more pronounced when you discount players who had already featured 10 times or more for Liverpool or in top-flight football beforehand.
Doing so shows Slot handed just 22 appearances to youngsters and nine starts. Klopp’s numbers are 100 and 58, respectively.
Given Liverpool’s limp title defence you may be forgiven for thinking these figures increased last season, but the stats reveal Slot was always reluctant to turn to youth, even when things were at their bleakest.
Indeed, the number of appearances handed to those starting the 2025/26 season aged 21 or younger actually dropped from 104 to 100.
Using the same criteria as above – discounting those with 10 or more senior appearances for Liverpool or in a top-flight division – this figure dips to 51.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 30, 2025: Liverpool's (L-R) Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha on the pitch before the FA Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Liverpool FC at the London Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
While this does represent a jump on the season prior, it equates to just 12 starts – nine of which were handed to Rio Ngumoha who wasn’t so much knocking at the door as blowing it off its hinges.
The number of youth players used also dropped from the aforementioned 11 to 10.
Some may argue the quality wasn’t available to pick from, but would anybody have questioned Trey Nyoni starting ahead of the laboured Alexis Mac Allister at certain points of the campaign?
And if the pool of talent had diminished, that’s only because someone, presumably at the instigation of or at least with the blessing of Slot, signed off on the sales of the likes of Bobby Clark, Tyler Morton and Ben Doak.
Andoni Iraola’s youth development
Andoni Iraola, manager of Bournemouth applauds his teams supporters after his final game in charge during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth at the City Ground, Nottingham on Sunday 24th May 2026. (Photo: Jon Hobley | MI News) Credit: MI News & Sport /Alamy Live News
If a distrust of youth and the long-term impact of that panicked the decision-makers at Liverpool, it’s not unreasonable to think they would consider any new manager’s penchant for blooding youngsters before settling on a preferred candidate.
In Iraola, they have found someone far more prepared to trust the next generation.
Again, caveats apply. The incoming Spaniard oversaw year-on-year progression at Bournemouth but was never competing for the title, nor in Europe.
With Premier League survival comfortably secured in his first two campaigns, it’s reasonable to posit that he had more opportunities to experiment come the latter stages of two of his three years on the south coast.
Still, the numbers make for interesting reading, with the Basque coach clearly setting his stall out from the off.
Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen during the Premier League match at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth. Picture date: Saturday January 25, 2025.
In his maiden year in England, Iraola used seven players aged 21 or younger at the start of the season.
Moreover, 143 appearances were awarded between those seven players, including 97 starts. Seventeen of those starts were also handed to players yet to amass 10 senior top-division outings.
Come year two, Iraola’s trust grew further. Appearances for those 21 or younger rose to 213 and starts to 147. As a comparison, Slot’s numbers were 104 (-109) and 42 (-105) respectively.
Fast forward to last season and there was a slight decline, due in part to players Iraola handed debuts to maturing beyond the age of 21.
Still the Spaniard picked his kids 153 times compared to Slot’s 100, and he gifted 107 starts against Slot’s 51. It’s also worth remembering that in each season, Bournemouth played an average of 14 games fewer than the Reds.
Striking the right balance
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, May 9, 2026: Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha is replaced by substitute Alexander Isak (L) during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Placing your trust in youth isn’t without risk but it can prove a lightning rod for a season.
Whereas Liverpool toiled and looked in desperate need of an injection of pace and exuberance (Rio aside), Bournemouth were earning plaudits for their energetic press and attacking verve.
One side forged an identity while the other were going through an identity crisis.
Such was the job Iraola did at Bournemouth that talent he nurtured has either departed for big money or appears destined to.
The development of Ilya Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Antoine Semenyo will not have gone unnoticed at Anfield, nor will the potential of Junior Kroupi and Rayan.
A track record of bringing through youth prospects isn’t the be all and end all. Iraola is smart enough to realise he will be judged on silverware, but who is to say we can’t have both?