Liverpool’s recent transfer windows have been defined by headline spending. Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola have each arrived at Anfield over the past two summers for fees worth more than £100m apiece. Behind those deals, however, there is an internal recognition that the club’s pool of young talent needs replenishing after a summer in which a significant amount of homegrown talent was sold.
The numbers explain why that matters. Since 2020, Liverpool have raised more than £230m from the sale of players who represented the club at youth level, a revenue stream that has become a major part of owner Fenway Sports Group’s self-sustaining business model, with those funds reinvested back into the club. Keeping the pipeline stocked is therefore a commercial priority as much as a footballing one.
Replenishing it has become more complicated in one key market. Fifa rules permit international transfers only for players over the age of 18, and since Brexit Premier League clubs are no longer allowed to sign under-18s from European countries. The consequence is a premium on young English players, a shift that Liverpool academy director Alex Inglethorpe acknowledges.
“Any player we sign, the first intention is that we want them to play in the first team and there’s a belief that there’s a chance for everyone that signs here,” Inglethorpe said. “That really is no different since the impact of Brexit on the English market, which is quite significant. There’s now a premium on young English players. Time will tell if that premium is worthwhile but it’s definitely a change. So it’s fairly natural for a club like Liverpool to look within Merseyside in the first instance then broaden that out – national recruitment happens at 14 and after that you look globally, which is what we’ve done.”
The department driving that global search is Liverpool’s talent unit, led by Matt Newberry since the winter of 2024. His team decides which young players from overseas should be targeted, drawing on a wide network of contacts and dedicated regional scouts, and the club has become increasingly aggressive in the space. It helps that new sporting director Julian Ward is well known for his global reach.
Inglethorpe also pointed to the mechanism that allows clubs to look further afield: “You have access to certain talent based on points accrued from playing homegrown players. We had a couple of ESC (elite significant contribution) spots to explore the wider market and that’s something which, even prior to Brexit, was a fairly normal thing.”
The most striking example of the approach so far is Mor Talla Ndiaye, whose journey began in the Senegalese village of Sandiara, where he played football in the streets. He progressed through the ranks at Bousports Academy in the town of Thiadiaye before joining Amitie Football Club in the city of Thies. In January, Liverpool fended off interest from other European clubs to sign the 18-year-old for about £1m plus add-ons.
Scouts spotted him at the U17 World Cup in Qatar last winter, after which Liverpool opened discussions with his academy and his agency, Sport Cover. Several video calls followed before club representatives travelled to Senegal, where they visited the places Ndiaye trained and met the people who had supported his development, presenting their vision to him directly. A round-table meeting was organised with his family to understand his environment and the context in which he grew up. Ndiaye ultimately chose Liverpool because they offered the clearest pathway and because the club’s approach in getting to know him stood out.
On the pitch, he is a left-footed centre-half who featured for Liverpool in pre-season and was an unused substitute in three games in the second half of last season under Arne Slot. Rob Page, Liverpool’s U21 boss, is among those impressed. “He’s an incredible story, isn’t he? From where he’s come from to where he is – and he’s such a humble kid. He’s an unbelievable lad to work with,” Page said. “There’s exciting times ahead but he’s got a lot of work to do. He’s nowhere near the finished article but he’s on the right path. His attitude is spot on and he’s at the club that will definitely help him develop.”
There is optimism at Anfield about Ndiaye and a genuine belief that if he reaches the top, it could be one of the great football stories. Since arriving, he has settled in with a host family, which is standard practice when players are not from the area and one used to working with Liverpool. Inglethorpe said the club is conscious of what a move of this kind demands: “Players come from varying parts of the world and, when someone comes in and doesn’t speak much English at the start, you have to help with that and help understand culturally the differences in food, the weather and even the pitches you play on. There’s a lot of understanding in terms of the level of support that’s needed and the most important thing you can give a young player is the time. I’m delighted that Mor made such a strong impression and he’s done as well as he has, but we hope that he’s going to get better and better as he continues to adapt.”
Ndiaye is not the only player identified and recruited by the global talent team. After the U17 World Cup, Liverpool also completed a £2.6m move for another centre-half, Ifeanyi Ndukwe. The 18-year-old Austrian, who was impressive in pre-season, has gone on loan to Levante in La Liga as he looks to obtain a UK work permit. Further ahead, Samuel Martinez, the 17-year-old Colombian midfielder, will join next summer, having had “30 offers from around the world,” according to his father.
It does not always work out. Arsenal beat Liverpool to the signing of Andria Bartishvili from Georgia last month, with the 17-year-old set to join the Gunners next summer when he turns 18. But the moves for Ndiaye and Martinez illustrate Liverpool’s willingness to look beyond Europe and into areas they may not have explored before. With top clubs circling emerging talent, the ability to sell the pathway the club offers has become imperative.
The club has also confirmed moves this summer for Lucca Brughmans, the 18-year-old Belgian goalkeeper, and Djylian N’Guessan, the 18-year-old French forward, with both set to join permanently in 2027. In the modern game most talents are known and there are few hidden gems left, but Liverpool believe that by digging deeper and wider they can get ahead of the curve, using their global network and their reputation as a club that will help players develop.