Liverpool are reported to have agreed substantial fee for 15-year-old Birmingham City talent Calum Scanlon, with the Reds keen to further Jurgen Klopp’s existing use of academy graduates like Curtis Jones and Caoimhin Kelleher by recruiting the best young talents in the country.
Klopp was also responsible for handing Trent Alexander-Arnold a first-team role while still a teenager and the right-back has since blossomed into one of the best in the world.
Scanlon is versatile enough to play on the left-side of defence or in midfield and The Times reports that Liverpool’s offer of less than £500,000 has been accepted by Birmingham.
It will now be up to the player to decide what he wants to do, with Scanlon’s family said to be considering the opportunity to continue his development on Merseyside instead.
Liverpool’s interest is believed to pre-date recent proposed changes of Birmingham’s academy system, which met disapproval on social from former graduates like Jude Bellingham and Nathan Redmond. But that development is said to have increased interest in Scanlon.
Birmingham have made public their considerations to restructure their youth football programme and adopt a B and C team model for their younger players, which would have the effect of scaling back much of their current academy operations.
The Scanlon situation obviously draws comparisons with the aforementioned Bellingham, Birmingham’s most high profile recent academy graduate. The 17-year-old was a regular in the Championship last season and joined Borussia Dortmund for an initial £25m over summer.
Jude’s 15-year-old younger brother, Jobe, is another Birmingham talent clubs are keeping an eye on.
Liverpool have long had one of the best youth development programmes in English football. Not only that, it seems refreshed over the last couple of years, with the likes of Neco Williams and Rhys Williams also becoming valuable first-team squad players.
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Source : 90min