Rodgers will give kids a chance

A lot of people may still regard Liverpool as one of the biggest clubs in the country, yet the stark truth is that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Reds to compete financially with other teams in the division. Bearing this in mind, Brendan Rodgers has now stated that he wants to make the most of the club’s academy so he does not have to splash out millions of pounds in recruiting new players.

The comments come on the back of Raheem Sterling’s excellent display against Chelsea at the weekend. There has been plenty of attention focussed on the 17-year-old in recent weeks and the pressure certainly doesn’t seem to be getting to the England U17 winger as his performances continue to improve. The fact that Sterling cost the club just £600k from QPR two years ago is more impressive and shows that an investment in youth can be a successful policy.

Rodgers seems to agree and as well as stating that he will be aiming to bring more young players through, he has also claimed that Sterling could be a better prospect than his former player Scott Sinclair.

He said, “Because we don’t have the money that some of our rivals have, I want to make the philosophy throughout the club one that allows us to bring players from the Academy into the first team. We want to develop what this club has had for many years and develop top young players. I look at players like Scott Sinclair and boys of that ilk and Raheem is certainly up there. Maybe even more advanced at that age.”

As well as Sinclair, Rodgers has also overseen the development over many other players during his time as a coach with Spurs defender Steven Caulker and recent signing Joe Allen being two of the most renowned. Hopefully, he can continue such work with the Liverpool academy.