Liverpool need Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliot and Neco Williams next season

Liverpool are thinking deeply about squad building.

There are several factors behind the scenes that can dictate how a team may approach any given transfer window. Many of these types of considerations are often overlooked or never even considered by fans.

Beyond player ability, availability, and a myriad of evaluable sports metrics for each player, a team must also meet certain league requirements to participate. For example the homegrown rule requires each 25 man roster have eight homegrown players.

For Champions League a team needs eight homegrown and/or home trained players or they lose a team spot for each deficiency.

This obscure rule might well have a huge impact, and dictate how teams keep and organize youth players.

Indeed, if you recall earlier this month, Liverpool announced that Marko Grujic and Harry Wilson wouldn’t be going back out on loan. They made public ballpark valuation of these youngsters with the thought to sell to raise funds in a supposed cash strapped financial quarter.

But the nuance to how players are viewed by team committees regarding loans or sales, where to loan, who to loan and when can be effected by this obscure ‘homegrown’ rule.

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This rule is fleshed out by Jack Lusby from This is Anfield, with reference to several Liverpool youth players and how they might be seen part and parcel by the dictates of this rule.

It very quickly becomes quite intricate, how the threads come together to weave a cohesive transfer strategy and how youth development is designed to reflect a club’s attention to this detail.

The Reds last two purchased players, Takumi Minamino and Kostas Tsimikas, do not qualify according to this particular rule. With Adam Lallana leaving, there is an empty spot in eight required to fulfil the rule requirement.

So this makes players like first team call-ups Neco Williams, Curtis Jones, Rhian Brewster, and possibly Harry Wilson a bit more understandable. Jurgen Klopp is known for his propensity to promote from within. This is a sign of loyalty and is important to him and it is one of the many reasons that players want to play for leader like him.

Couple this with this homegrown rule, and it becomes clearer why certain players are loaned or sold and when and where this happens. The trick, I suppose, is to always manage these type of nuanced situations with the ultimate health of the club in mind.

Along with considering the needs of the player in their development and how this effects the overall team picture is much more difficult to determine than just x’s and o’s on a team strategy sheet. There are plethora of factors which determine the action or lack thereof by a transfer committee.

So, according to this rule it must be considered how many of the 25 man squad are homegrown, and/or hometrained by the time they reach the age of 21.

For example Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez do, Jordan Henderson and James Milner doesn’t. Williams does, Tsimikas doesn’t.

Now you can begin to see and understand a bit what kinds of considerations might be happening off the radar of press and media when determining the future and fate of these players.

Another reason why Harry Wilson will probably not be sold this summer. He qualifies as homegrown and hometrained. Replacing Gini Wijnaldum’s contract and salary with Thiago doesn’t effect this to much as it is a swap and not an addition of a non qualifying player.

So you can clearly see just how much work, thought and patience must go into each and every player consideration. Just how intricately interconnected the whole process and paradigm of team building is.

Next. Marko Grujic mentioned as shock Dejan Lovren replacement. dark

Klopp and Michael Edwards have proven a masterful pair in the market since FSG brought them together. They deserve a huge amount of credit, which is why Klopp shares his awards with the whole team staff.

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