Jürgen Klopp leads young guns to EFL Cup glory - Who are Liverpool’s academy heroes?

Liverpool won yet another trophy under the soon departing Jürgen Klopp on Sunday. The seventh major trophy the German has won at Anfield. Captain Virgil van Dijk’s injury time winner helped the Reds take EFL Cup glory, beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final. A few weeks back, after Liverpool smashed the Blues 4-1 in the league, many felt it was a foregone conclusion that Klopp's team would stroll to victory for the first domestic silverware of the season. But what happened since then, transforms this latest achievement into another true masterstroke on the CV of Klopp and his team. 

The Merseysiders have been ravaged by an injury pandemic in recent weeks. Keeper Alisson, Diogo Jota, Darwin Núñez, Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones have all limped off. They joined Dominik Szoboszlai,Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, and Joel Matip, who were already on the casualty list. In total, Liverpool were without an astonishing 12 first team players for yesterday's centrepiece at Wembley. Conor Bradley, who has already made an incredible impact this season filling in for the injured Alexander-Arnold on multiple occasions and impressing, was the only academy player to start the game for the Reds.

Klopp named pretty much the most senior starting line-up he possibly could and the eleven still had an average age of just 25.3 years old. Chelsea's starting eleven actually had a much younger average age of 23.5 years old, but with many big money stars among them - Conor Gallagher was the only player that had come through the Blues academy. As the game wound on, and Liverpool and Chelsea still couldn’t be separated, many managers would have just left the, albeit tired, senior players on the pitch to try and get the job done. Not Klopp. Liverpool ended the final with a mind-boggling four academy players on the field, and an eleven with an average age of just 24.1. Between those four, they had made just 32 first team appearances - 20 of which came from centre-half Jarell Quansah alone. 

"It is easily the most special trophy I've ever won"

After the game Klopp was effusive in his praise for the youngsters: "What happened this afternoon is absolutely insane. We had a team, a squad with an academy full of character. I’m so proud I could be part of it. We might never see it again, these things don’t happen in football. Apparently you don't win trophies with kids, I didn't know that." He added, "it is easily the most special trophy I've ever won." So who is this crop of young players who have been shown so much faith from Klopp? Do we have another ‘class of 92’ on our hands? We take a look at these academy products, what they have done so far, and their chances of becoming future regulars for Liverpool. 

Conor Bradley - 20 years old - Market value: €2m

Astonishingly, Conor Bradley actually appeared to be one of the more senior players in Liverpool’s squad for the cup final. After an early injury to Ryan Gravenberch, Bradley was thrust into the Liverpool front three, and didn’t look out of place. The Northern Irish right-back made his senior debut back in September 2021 in a 3-0 EFL Cup win against Norwich. Bradley also made a late cameo against AC Milan in the Champions League that season. Last campaign, Bradley went on loan to Bolton Wanderers, where he played 41 times in League One, scoring five goals. He was mainly deployed as right-winger - the position he started at as a youth player. 

It looked as though this season, back at Liverpool, Bradley would be restricted to some Europa League and domestic cup appearances at best, but an injury to Alexander-Arnold opened up an opportunity for the 20 year old to go in at right-back. And he grabbed it with both arms. In the 4-1 win against Chelsea in the league, Bradley scored a fine goal, and assisted twice, earning him the man-of-the-match award and announcing himself on the world stage. He’s sure to now be a big part of the future plans at Liverpool. He was given a €500k increase in the last Premier League market value update in December to take his value to €2m. Bradley’s set for another huge increase in the latest update in March.

Bobby Clark - 19 years old - Market value: €350k

Son of former Newcastle and Sunderland midfielder Lee Clark, Bobby Clark made his Premier League debut last season, coming on late in the 9-0 win against Bournemouth. In the Premier League 2 this campaign for Liverpool U21, Clark has an impressive two goals and four assists from midfield in just eight games. Loan offers came in for the teenager in January, but Liverpool decided to hold on to his services for the run-in to the season. Clarke couldn’t have dreamt of playing an hour and lifting the EFL Cup just over a month later. Clark has still never even started a game for the Reds first team.

Clark was signed from Newcastle’s youth team back in 2021 for a fee of €1.5m, with Clark just 16 years old at the time. The centre-midfielder was given his first market value back in November 2022 of €500k and it remains at that today, with the youngster only making a handful of first-team appearances. However, his cameo in the cup final is likely to aid another upgrade in the next Premier League update in March.

James McConnell - 19 years old - Market value: €500k

Replacing World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister for just his seventh senior appearance, James McConnell looked at home in the Liverpool midfield. A couple of driving runs and some real composure with his passing will have Liverpool fans excited that they’ve got yet another real talent on their hands. Last season, McConnell scored five goals in 13 games in the Premier League 2 from midfield, but had to wait until this term to make his senior debut. That came in the Europa League against Toulouse back in October. 

In the latest Premier League market value update in December, McConnell’s value rose from €300k to €500k. More performances like his cameo in Sunday’s cup final will surely lead to another increase in March.

Jayden Danns - 18 years old - Market value: N/A

Having only made his senior debut off the bench against Luton four days prior, Jayden Danns couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams a month or so ago that he would be coming on and playing a part in a cup final victory for Klopp’s Reds. The fairytale was almost enhanced by a goal, as Danns came so close to writing himself into Liverpool folklore, with his header tipped over the bar late in normal time. 

In the FA Youth cup this season, Danns has been prolific with five goals in three games.  Add to that nine goals in nine in the U18 Premier League, there's lot of hope around the young striker. Hence why he has been given the opportunity to accelerate through to the first team at such a tender age. The 18-year-old forward doesn't even have a market value yet, such is his sudden emergence. He will certainly be given his first market value in March's Premier League update.

Jarell Quansah - 21 years old - Market value: €6m

Probably the most senior of Liverpools academy products to feature in the EFL Cup final, and actually the last to come on, replacing the booked Ibrahim Konate after 105 minutes, 21-year-old centre-half Jarrel Quansah seems to have a bright future at Anfield. With Matip out for the season with an ACL injury, opportunities have come the way of Quansah, with the young man featuring 20 times across all competitions for the first team this term. He has often shown great composure on the ball, and who better to learn from than his centre-half partner and club captain van Dijk.

"It's special how calm he is on the ball. I liked him from the moment I saw him [as a 16 year old]." said Klopp back in January, when asked about the defender. In December, Quansah was given a €4m market value increase to take his market value to €6m. Given his huge impact on the senior team, he could perhaps expect another upgrade in March.