Every October since 2016, The Guardian has published its ‘Next Generation’ list of up-and-coming footballers to watch out for, both in the Premier League and globally.
For the past eight years, its writers have identified one rising talent from each English top-flight club who are in first-year scholar age (generally 16, may include some who’ve just turned 17).
With the 2024 list having just been published, we look back at the previous Liverpool selections, some of whom have made an impact at first-team level for the Reds.
Liverpool’s previous ‘Next Generation’ picks from The Guardian
Soon after the 2016 list was published, he became the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool’s history when netting in the EFL Cup against Leeds.
He also won senior caps for Wales within a year but couldn’t establish himself at Anfield, having had loan moves to Sheffield United, Oxford, Blackpool and Hearts before joining Preston as a free agent in 2022. The Deepdale club released him this year and he’s now at Salford City in League Two.
Having made 11 senior appearances each for LFC and Wales, Woodburn celebrates his 25th birthday today.
The midfielder made his Liverpool debut against Wolves in the FA Cup in January 2019 and shot to prominence with a sensational winner against Everton in the same competition a year later.
He made six appearances in the Premier League-winning 2019/20 season and did manage to become a first-team fixture thereafter, having gone on to make 139 appearances and counting for the Reds, with 16 goals to his name so far (Transfermarkt).
The 23-year-old has just become a father, too, having today announced the birth of his daughter.
Sadly the defensive midfielder never made it to the first-team ranks at Liverpool, with injuries hindering his progress before he left for Newcastle in 2020. He was a regular in Premier League 2 for the Tyneside club but a senior breakthrough also eluded him there.
He later had a loan spell at Darlington before joining Workington in the Northern Premier League. In February, he signed for League of Ireland First Division side Cork City, who’ve since won promotion back to the top flight.
The striker was hugely prolific for Liverpool’s under-18s and, despite a cruciate ligament injury in 2021, was offered a professional contract at Anfield.
However, his only senior Reds appearance came in a Carabao Cup tie against Derby two years ago before he joined Preston – for whom he’s yet to score – the following summer.
The attacking midfielder was included in senior matchday squads for Liverpool in two domestic cup games in 2021/22 but didn’t make it off the bench in either. He spent the last two seasons out on loan at Crawley, Wigan and Kilmarnock, scoring in a shock Carabao Cup win against Fulham for the former.
Balagizi is currently plying his trade with the Reds’ under-21 side, scoring one goal and setting up another in their Premier League 2 win over Sunderland last month.
It’s already been three years since the exciting winger made his senior Liverpool debut in a Carabao Cup win over Norwich, scoring against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup later that season and even getting a Premier League bow against Brentford within three months of turning 17.
Fate then dealt him a hammer blow as a pelvic injury sidelined him for 19 months before he returned to make three further first-team outings for the Reds last term. He’s currently on loan at Norwich, netting in their recent win over Hull City.
Signed from Celtic that year at the age of 16, the Scottish gem has made 10 first-team appearances for Liverpool so far, a figure which would likely have been higher if it weren’t for a long-term knee injury last season.
That didn’t stop him from making the provisional Scotland squad for Euro 2024 and he’s since won three senior caps under Steve Clarke. He’s on loan at Middlesbrough this season, opening his account for the club in a win over Stoke last month.
Acquired from Leicester last year, the highly-rated attacking midfielder became Liverpool’s youngest-ever FA Cup player when he featured in the win over Southampton in February 2024.
That remains his only competitive first-team appearance so far, but he served notice of his explosive talents with a sensational goal in the pre-season friendly against Sevilla in August, which was Arne Slot’s first matchday experience as the Reds’ head coach.
Liverpool were willing to go through a lengthy and complex registration process with the Premier League this summer in order to snap up the prodigous talent from Chelsea’s academy.
The 16-year-old has played five times so far for the Reds’ under-18s, catching the eye with his dazzling dribbling and confidence to shoot for goal when the opportunity presents itself.
