What do you do when you have stingy owners and a need to add new faces to the squad? You look at the youth team.
This is what Jurgen Klopp did when he pulled Stefan Bajcetic from the academy side and made him a first-team player after the Spaniard impressed during the World Cup camp.
Here are a few Liverpool academy players who we think could 'do a Bajcetic' and become first-teamers next season.
Tyler Morton
Tyler plays in the position Liverpool need reinforcement the most: central midfield. So Jurgen Klopp will probably give him a chance to impress in the summer.
This season, Morton has made 34 Championship appearances for Birmingham, earning mostly positive reviews from the Blues fans, although not as positive as Harvey Elliott had.
Morton’s key strength is his passing range — he is one of the most active passers in the division.
Conor Bradley
Trent Alexander-Arnold definitely needs competition and Conor may be able to provide some. The Northern Ireland international has four goals and four assists in 34 League One appearances this season.
He's good at defending, averaging more than two ball recoveries per game. It could be the case that Bradley needs a Championship loan before returning to Liverpool — but he could also be given a chance to deputise for Trent, especially with Calvin Ramsay being a liability so far.
Sepp Van den Berg
After one and a half years in the Championship, the Dutchman is getting top-flight experience with Bundesliga side Schalke 04. He has made just four league appearances this season due to injuries though.
Sepp's return next season could see Liverpool finally free Nat Phillips as the 21-year-old could slot in a fourth- or fifth-choice centre-back. And then who knows, maybe we have a young Van Dijk on the books (his ambitions are actually higher)!
Kaide Gordon
Considered one of the brightest talents in the Academy, Kaide has already made four first-team appearances for the Reds. His progress has been stalled by injuries — a pelvic problem has kept him out for more than a year — but he'll be knocking on the doors of the senior side when he returns.
It's too early to say he would compete with Salah on the right-hand side, but you never know! Half a year ago, no one would have believed that an 18-year-old Bajcetic would take Fabinho's place in the midfield but that's precisely what happened this season.
Who do you back to make the first team next season, if anyone?
