Liverpool is planning to significantly expand and revamp their scouting operations with a renewed focus on developing homegrown talent and continuing to discover promising young players. The club aims to identify the next generation of academy graduates who can follow in the footsteps of successful players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Conor Bradley, and Caoimhin Kelleher. This initiative is part of Liverpool’s broader commitment to enhancing its talent recruitment, retention, and development strategies.
In contrast to some Premier League clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion, which have recently reduced their scouting networks, Liverpool intends to build on existing successful practices. They are working to strengthen their scouting network both locally and internationally, ensuring that they can discover and bring in talent from a wide range of regions. To help facilitate this growth, Liverpool will be making several key appointments in recruitment and loan management, including a new head of loan management, who will take over from Matt Newberry. Newberry has been promoted to the role of director of global talent, following a distinguished career at the club. His scouting work has already paid off with the successful signing of Ryan Gravenberch, who was first spotted by Newberry as a young teenager playing for Ajax’s Under-16 team.
Additionally, Liverpool is creating two new roles within the loan management department — a loans pathway lead and a loans performance analyst. These roles will help manage players like 17-year-old Ben Doak, who has been impressing on loan at Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough. The club will also appoint a global talent scout, along with regional scouts for the Netherlands, Belgium, and other European regions.
The expansion of the scouting network will extend to the academy, with increased recruitment, analysis, and scouting operations. This focus has already produced impressive young talents such as Jones, Bradley, and Kelleher, who recently featured in Liverpool’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid. Recent additions to the academy include Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha, two exceptional young talents signed from Leicester City and Chelsea, respectively.
