Why the Loan System Is the Ideal Breeding Ground for Liverpool's Youngsters

Speaking in January, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp spoke of his desire to overhaul the Reds' approach to the loan system this summer. But would the German be right to do so?

"The loan system is something we need to look at in the summer," said Klopp. "The best talents should be in their club so they can develop."

Klopp's comments came at a time when Liverpool's injury-hit squad were entering a period of fixture congestion, and therefore, several youngsters were recalled from loans and drafted into a very makeshift XI for the FA Cup match at Exeter City.

Sheyi Ojo, Ryan Kent, Tiago Ilori and Danny Ward were recalled from Wolves, Coventry City, Aston Villa and Aberdeen, respectively.

Previously, within a month of joining the club, Klopp had expressed his surprise at the number of players Liverpool had out on loan. "It is not normal to have players on loan in Germany, but in England it is," he said.

"Maybe we need to cool down the situation a little bit, hold on to these guys longer and let them play in our second team and develop as a team. We will see what we will do in the future.

"There will be a time when we have to make a decision."

Liverpool loaned out 22 players in total during 2015/16, ranging from short-term youth loans for teenagers such as Joe Maguire and Harry Wilson to high-profile, season-long loans for first-team squad players such as Mario Balotelli, Luis Alberto and Lazar Markovic.

But is Klopp correct to believe playing in the Reds under-21s would be better than being out on loan?

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The under-21s league in England is widely criticised for not being competitive enough, so much so that attempts to improve this have included the controversial move to invite Premier League teams to enter their under-21s into the Football League Trophy next season.

The Premier League under-21 division consists of just 11 teams, meaning 22 games spread over the nine-month season, with often weeks between games. In order to address this, Liverpool's under-21s plan up to 20 additional games to fill the schedule, as explained by under-21s coach Michael Beale in an interview with This Is Anfield earlier this year.

Benefits of the Loan System

With the pressure on managers to deliver almost instant success, chances for young players can often be few and far between; managers must be brave to give an academy player a chance when their job is on the line.

Of course, that's not something that can be said of Klopp, who handed seven academy players their debuts last season—albeit two of those, Kent and Maguire, didn't feature again after the Exeter match.

Klopp appears keen to give youth a chance, which is a positive given the wealth of talent in Liverpool's academy, such as midfielders Pedro Chirivella and Cameron Brannagan along with winger Ojo—who made five starts towards the end of the season.

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Young players behind that trio, though—full-back Connor Randall, midfielder Kevin Stewart and winger Sergi Canos—will struggle for opportunities next season with the club not involved in European competition. Canos has been linked, per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, with a permanent move away.

The likes of Randall, Stewart and Canos won't develop from just playing under-21s football at an age where they need to be challenged further.

That's why the loan system is pivotal to Liverpool's philosophy at the academy. This is something Beale explained to This Is Anfield:

"

There's a statistic that only three to four percent of current Premier League players made their debut after the age of 19, that's not making their debut in the Premier League, but making their professional debut somewhere before that age.

We believe it is crucial that young players are playing games on a regular basis. The current under 21 league doesn’t provide enough games alone, therefore, we plan up to 20 additional games to fill the schedule or use the loans system as a way of providing players with a regular games programme.

"

So basically, you need to make your professional debut by age 19—and a lot of the time, that's not possible in the Premier League.

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The loan system gives Liverpool, and other clubs, a solution to bridge the gap between under-21s and first team.

Indeed, seven of the current England squad at the European Championships—Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton, Danny Rose, Ryan Bertrand, Kyle Walker and Harry Kane—have benefited from loans to Football League clubs earlier in their careers.

"We know what we can and cannot provide a young player," Beale said. "We cannot guarantee games inside a stadium with passionate support or mixing day-to-day within a men's dressing room—our average age is 19 years old in the under-21 squad."

The loan system gives players their first taste of not just professional football, but also the first-team environment, which is particularly true at a club like Liverpool where the first-team training ground and academy complex are separate.

Ojo had quite the impact at the end of last season, providing five assists in his 13 first-team appearances for the Reds. Would he have been as productive without his 17 Championship games for Wolves, where he scored two and assisted three earlier in the campaign. That's open for debate, but surely that time with the Midlands side can only have helped, not hindered his development.

Klopp and Next Season

It's not something Klopp seems to agree on, though, saying: "In my opinion, the best talents should be at their own club so they can play together for the under-21s and develop as a team, so you always have them around you.

"I think it's a kind of pressure you don't need at that age."

Perhaps Klopp's words in October and January were a little hasty, not quite understanding the intricacies—and problems—with youth football in England.

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"There's going to be about 30 players at Melwood unless they are placed in different places and get to play every week," says journalist Paul Joyce of the Express in an interview with This Is Anfield.

"I just don't think it's realistic for the youngsters to stay if they aren't going to play. They need to get out and develop, playing once every two weeks for the under-21s is not going to do them any good."

Joyce is right. The likes of Randall, Kent, Wilson, Maguire, Jack Dunn, Jordan Williams and Ryan Fulton are at an age where they need to be exposed to regular, competitive football, and it's very difficult to see them getting that with Liverpool in 2016/17.

Pre-season will be key for some, offering an opportunity to impress the manager and tempt him to keep them at the club. That's a chance Ojo, Brannagan, Chirivella and Stewart are most likely to get.

Given Klopp's words last season, talks will no doubt be going on between him, Beale and academy director Alex Inglethorpe to assess the situation this summer.

It will be interesting to see if changes are made to Liverpool's approach going forward.