SEARCH IS ON

The Liverpool academy head, Frank McParland has said that he believes that the club will be seeing the next Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher sooner rather than later. Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard were the last high-profile players to come from the Liverpool Academy, but they are both coming to the twilight of their careers.

Carragher will be 35 years of age by the end of the season, while Steven Gerrard will be 33 years of age. Only the likes of Sterling have shown promising play in recent weeks, but it has been a long time since the club produced an academy graduate capable of challenging these two players.

Yet, Frank McParland is of the opinion that it will happen sooner rather than later because he has seen a lot of potential from the youth teams in recent seasons. Liverpool have a reputation for producing great players from the academy. Over the years, there have been many players who have gone on to represent the national teams, but that line-up has dried up in the last decade. McParland has admitted that the club may not have a great scouting presence in every country, but they have contacts in every country that will help them find great talent.

"It’s the ultimate.You’d love to get a Stevie or a Carra through, and I can assure you that we’re working really hard to do that. I don’t think it will be too long before that happens. If you don’t have good scouts, you don’t get good players. It’s not like 15 years ago when you’d go to a park in Liverpool and hope to find five or six players who are going to play in the first team," said the Liverpool academy head. The latest prospect Sterling is set to be awarded a new five-year contract.