Liverpool news: Expert issues ‘huge’ Kirkby claim after £138m reveal
Kevin Campbell has heaped praise on Liverpool for their academy’s profitability.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Arsenal and Everton striker stressed the “huge importance” for clubs to make money from their youth systems.
As revealed by CIES Football Observatory, via Liverpool Echo (6 March), the Reds have recouped £138million from the sale of their academy talent since 2015.
That figure includes the big-money sales of players like Raheem Sterling, Rhian Brewster and Harry Wilson.
Only Chelsea, who have generated £173.5million from academy player sales, have generated more than Liverpool in England in that time.
When asked for his assessment of Liverpool’s academy sales, Football Insider assistant editor Dylan Childs: “It’s hugely important.
“It is essential in fact.
“At these top clubs, it is the conveyor belt. Having a successful academy keeps money coming into the coffers as well as producing top-class youngsters for your first team.
“The majority of academy players do not make it at the club so if you can make good money off it, amazing.
“Chelsea have done it for years. Liverpool and Man City have very good academies who are also great at developing players. That’s why it’s not a surprise to see those three clubs at the top of the Premier League perhaps. They’ve been well ran.
“Listen, it’s a very important part of the structure of a football club now. Making you academy profitable can go a long way. You have to make money off it. Liverpool are doing a great job.”
In other news, a pundit has dismissed Jurgen Klopp’s ‘unfair’ proposal that will ‘flip the game on its head’.