Liverpool are a club committed to standing by and developing young talent.

That continues to be demonstrated by the growth of, most recently, Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley in 2023/24, with the pair racking up 3,453 senior minutes between this term.

This position has been further reinforced by the contract extension handed out to fellow promising youngster Calum Scanlon.

Calum Scanlon has signed a new, extended contract with the Reds

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 9, 2024

The 19-year-old has featured infrequently in Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign at Anfield, making two appearances in the Europa League group stage against Toulouse and Royal Union St Gilloise.

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Senior Liverpool contracts to follow?

Don’t stop now, Liverpool!

You can expect conversations are being held behind the scenes when it comes to the futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah.

Real Madrid are understood to be keeping a close eye on the situation as far as our vice skipper is concerned, though we’d be quite frankly appalled were Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards not making that a priority.

Not to detract from the wonderful news of Scanlon’s future being confirmed, of course!

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Liverpool fans are becoming well versed in dealing with injury problems and we’ve been hit with yet another, on the dawn of facing Manchester City.

Taking to his Instagram account, Calum Scanlon has uploaded images of himself in a protective boot on his right foot.

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This came alongside the caption: ‘Minor setback, back stronger than ever’ from the full-back who was last in the first-team squad on the bench against Southampton in the FA Cup.

It seems that some time on the sidelines will see the 19-year-old sit out games after the Manchester City clash but a return to the squad shouldn’t be too far away.

You can view the image of Scanlon via @AnythingLFC_ on X:

Liverpool youngster Calum Scanlon (19) has picked up an injury playing for the U21s.

The left-back was recently on the bench in our FA Cup game vs Southampton. pic.twitter.com/c6gxtXAjRp

— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) March 5, 2024

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Liverpool coaches reportedly believe that Calum Scanlon could be the next Academy prospect to become a first-team regular for the club in the Premier League.

Football Insider reports that the teenager – signed for £500,000 from Birmingham City in 2020 – has ‘really impressed’ staff at the AXA training centre.

The 18-year-old has already made one appearance for Jurgen Klopp’s men, making a 24-minute cameo during the Reds’ 5-1 thrashing of Toulouse at Anfield.

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Superb news for the backline

Whilst we’ve been left to wonder over the future of the centre-back and right-back slots, it’s reassuring to hear that a young left-back is garnering such positive attention.

At 29 years of age, no one will be clamouring to see Andy Robertson shoved out of the door at the earliest opportunity.

Nonetheless, it’s potentially superb news that Scanlon could genuinely be the future of the role and enable a seamless transition from past to future when the time comes.

Absolutely brilliant work from Barry Lewtas and his team at the Academy!

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Liverpool have a host of senior and academy players performing for their national sides during this international break and Calum Scanlon has got himself in the headlines after a great performance.

As reported on englandfootball.com: ‘the winning goal arrived in the last minute, when Calum Scanlon skipped past his man on the left before his low cross left Donley with a close-range finish from inside the six-yard box to seal the win’.

It’s great to see that the youngster has followed his form that has seen a maiden first-team involvement for the Reds, onto the international stage with England’s Under-17s.

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The game against Japan in Marbella ended as a 3-2 victory to the Three Lions and our young left-back was crucial in the match-winning moment.

Coming onto the pitch just after the hour mark, the 18-year-old made a positive attacking impact and ensured that no further goals were conceded as he came on with the scoreline stood at 2-2.

Playing against Toulouse at Anfield in October, surrounded by four other bench appearances, shows that this has been a dream campaign already for the former Birmingham City teenager.

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Let’s hope that the full-back can continue to push on from here and we can be a challenge for Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez and Luke Chambers in Andy Robertson’s role, when domestic football resumes.

With a packed fixture list and games in domestic cups and hopefully some meaningless European ties to come, we can expect Jurgen Klopp to dip into his academy options.

The young defender can do much worse than impressing on Merseyside and in the white of England.

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Jurgen Klopp has offered something of a selection hint with two players he’s invited to train with the first-team yesterday ahead of a meeting with Toulouse.

Neil Jones shared the update in question on X, with the Merseysiders set to take on the Ligue 1 outfit in the Europa League group stages this evening.

Both trained with the first team at Kirkby this afternoon #LFC https://t.co/K94jbi2Qyk

— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) October 25, 2023

Andy Robertson’s injury means the German tactician will have to choose between Kostas Tsimikas, Luke Chambers, Calum Scanlon and, perhaps, a slightly left-of-field option in the increasingly versatile Joe Gomez.

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We’ve enjoyed quite the start in Europe thus far, coming back against LASK in Austria before calmly dispatching Belgian visitors Royal Union Saint Gilloise at Anfield.

Toulouse, for their part, shouldn’t be taken as potential pushovers, however, having already secured a number of impressive results domestically and abroad, drawing with PSG and beating LASK.

With Tsimikas a little rough around the edges amid a lack of game time, we’d be far from surprised to see the Greek international start at least the first 45 at L4.

That said, we’d welcome any opportunity for our aforementioned young duo to get some minutes on the pitch.

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Liverpool fans were gutted to see Andy Robertson suffer a serious injury for Scotland that looks set to keep him on the sidelines for some time and now we must prepare for action on the pitch, without him.

It seems that Jurgen Klopp was quick to get this attended to as Calum Scanlon was spotted training with the first-team in the latest ‘Inside Training’ video on LFCTV Go.

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The 18-year-old left-back was signed from Birmingham City in 2021 and may well act as competition to Kostas Tsimikas and Luke Chambers, for the role left vacant by the injured Scotland captain.

With fixtures in the Europa League and domestic cups on the horizon, opportunities will be available to many younger players and it’s up to them to make the most of whatever minutes they’re handed.

You can watch Scanlon in Liverpool training (from 6:03) via LFCTV Go:

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Liverpool have confirmed that highly-rated youth prospect, Calum Scanlon, has put pen to paper on his first professional contract with the Merseyside-based outfit.

This update comes courtesy of the club’s official website, with the 17-year-old having first joined the Premier League outfit last year.

The teenager has thoroughly impressed in the youth ranks following his switch from Birmingham City.

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With the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones excelling in the first-team, we’re constantly reminded of the importance of the Academy in contributing to some of the top talents we’ve seen grace the Anfield turf over the years.

Seeing Scanlon take the next step in his Liverpool career is a huge moment for the youngster and his family, and we at the Empire of the Kop will be keeping a close eye on the fullback’s progress.

With Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas setting high standards in the first-team, the starlet couldn’t have two stronger examples of how he can mould his game to catch the eyes of Jurgen Klopp and Co. and realise his potential.

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The Reds have captured the signature of Calum Scanlon from Birmingham, Paul Gorst of the Liverpool Echo confirmed.

With a move secured for £500k, the 15-year-old will link up with fellow first-team hopefuls at the Academy, as he takes the first few steps of what we hope will be a long and successful Liverpool career.

Liverpool have completed the signing of 15-year-old Calum Scanlon from Birmingham.

Versatile defender plays down the left with the fee believed to be around £500,000.

England youth international put the finishing touches on the move today.

— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) December 23, 2020

Taking into account the age of the defender, it’s clear that Scanlon will not be the man to help shore up the club’s defence during the continued injury-enforced absences of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

It is expected that Liverpool will do more business, with the side already lining up a move for Celta Vigo starlet Stefan Bajcetic.

With Jurgen Klopp having previously raised concerns over the future of the squad following the end of his current contract in 2024, we can presume that this is the part of the club’s overarching strategy to ensure a continuous flow of talent for the German’s eventual successor.

If Scanlon puts in a solid shift in every training session and impresses for the club’s youth teams, he could very well be a part of this Liverpool side’s future.

The pathway, as Curtis Jones and co. have demonstrated, is there.

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