Liverpool\u2019s academy has long been a pathway to the first team, with Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Trent Alexander-Arnold among those to emerge from it in the Premier League era. A new group now has the chance to make its own case.<\/p>\n
Andoni Iraola\u2019s arrival gives Liverpool\u2019s prospects a fresh opportunity. Preseason will matter, and those who make the right impression could move closer to regular involvement during 2026-27.<\/p>\n
Rio Ngumoha may already have taken his first steps. The 17-year-old winger made 29 appearances last season, delivering three goal involvements and enough sharp moments to suggest he can grow beyond a substitute role. His pace, dribbling and confidence in possession have already caused problems for Premier League right backs. Liverpool have added V\u00edctor Mu\u00f1oz and are expected to bring in another winger after Mohamed Salah\u2019s departure, but Ngumoha still has a route into the side if his output improves. He already has a senior cap for the national team.<\/p>\n
Giovanni Leoni\u2019s Liverpool story has barely begun. The center back, signed for $40.7 million from Parma, made only one appearance before an ACL injury on his Carabao Cup debut cut short his first season. Nearly a year later, he is still rebuilding fitness. The club will be careful with him, but the current lack of depth in the position means chances should come once he is ready.<\/p>\n
Trey Nyoni has already had substantial exposure to first-team football. Since debuting in 2023-24, the midfielder has made 20 senior appearances in total, including 14 last season. His vision and passing range are clear, even if his slight build has made him a more difficult player to trust in the Premier League and Champions League.<\/p>\n
Stefan Baj\u010deti\u0107 remains a reminder of how quickly momentum can be interrupted by injury. Once described by J\u00fcrgen Klopp as \u201cTop talent, super player,\u201d he has spent long stretches out of action and is still not back in full first-team training.<\/p>\n
Jayden Danns has shown what he can do in limited minutes, scoring twice on only his third senior appearance. Fitness setbacks have slowed him, but his pace, power and finishing remain valuable assets. With Hugo Ekitik\u00e9 sidelined, there is room for a breakthrough if he stays available.<\/p>\n
Kieran Morrison also enters the conversation with momentum. The 19-year-old winger earned his first Northern Ireland cap in June 2026 and has already appeared twice for Liverpool\u2019s first team. His next step will be to turn promise into a more regular role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Six Liverpool academy youngsters could use 2026-27 to turn promise into first-team progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1857],"tags":[1446,1073,1615],"class_list":["post-18057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liverpool-news","tag-academy","tag-acl-injury","tag-andoni-iraola"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}