Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has explained the influence Trent Alexander-Arnold’s progress is having on Liverpool’s aspiring youngsters in Kirkby.


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Former U18s captain Alexander-Arnold helped his boyhood club win a sixth European Cup in June in his second successive Champions League final appearance.

Inglethorpe opened up on how the Reds right-back’s achievements have instilled further hope in those who want to emulate him, during a fascinating chat with Academy graduate Neil Mellor.

He also discussed the strong relationship between the Academy and first-team manager Jürgen Klopp, and much more – and you can read the first part of the interview below…

On the FA Youth Cup win over Manchester City last season…

It was a nice adventure for them all. They had to ride their luck at times and, typical in cup competition, there were moments you think you are going out. We had a very difficult game against Portsmouth early on, they came back to 2-2 and if it had gone to extra-time they were looking like the favourites to win it. We managed to find a way and I think that was probably similar to the final. We managed to find a way of staying in the game and we deserved to take it to a penalty shootout and we deserved to win it. But I think the real successes and relate far better is someone like Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. He is someone who has gone through the age groups and they [the young players] can see him playing in consecutive Champions League finals, they can see him playing every week in the Premier League and they can see him making a difference. That is tangible for a young kid to look at think, ‘That’s something that I hopefully can do and something I will inspire to do.’