Liverpool’s sporting director Julian Ward is working on strategic partnerships with European clubs to help develop the club’s young players, according to The Athletic.
The plan is to find clubs they can regularly work with on loan moves rather than sending academy prospects to random teams. Ward wants young players to have a settled environment where they know what to expect, which should improve their chances of eventually becoming key members of Andoni Iraola’s squad.
The strategy also has a secondary benefit. If Liverpool can build good relationships with European clubs and offer them tempting loan signings, it should improve their chances of recruiting players from those same clubs in future.
This fits with how Liverpool have recently operated in the transfer market. Signing young talents like Rio Ngumoha and Giovanni Leoni cheaply, then either fast-tracking them or sending them out on loan first, has been a strategy that’s worked well. Earlier this year Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe joined for a combined £3.5m.
Sources
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