LFC target future Asian star
Liverpool's academy director Frank McParland believes it is only a matter of time before an Asian player makes it at the club.
McParland watched Liverpool's U18 team narrowly overcome an impressive Singapore U21 side on Friday to reach the final of the NexLions Cup - and he believes the standard of Asian football is improving all the time.
"I was impressed by both the skill and the physical presence of the Singapore team," said McParland, who spent three hours at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday meeting officials from the Singapore FA before giving a presentation to players from the national academy about how the LFC Academy works.
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"Every time I come to Asia, I'm more and more impressed with the standard of football I see - particularly from the younger age groups.
"We're always looking at players when we play. We always look at the opposition and if someone does really well, you can be sure they'll be scouted properly.
"I'm sure it won't be long before we have an Asian star at Liverpool.
"It's just great to have top players from anywhere in the world, whether it's Australia, Asia, America or Allerton. We just want the very best players for Liverpool Football Club, so it's important that we don't just look in Allerton, we look in places like Asia as well."
McParland's view on the standard of Singaporean football was echoed by LFC's new reserve team manager Alex Inglethorpe, who delivered a one-hour training session at the stadium on Saturday to members of the national academy's U18 age group.
Having seen them up close, Inglethorpe couldn't hide his admiration for their natural talent.
"They played with such natural ability, it was very impressive," he said. "They had a freedom to how they played and that probably comes from the fact that they are street footballers. They haven't had that natural flair coached out of them.
"Some of the things they were trying were outrageous but they had the courage to try those things and sometimes they came off. It was a real joy to spend an hour with them and they were incredibly hungry to try the drills and tasks I was putting to them. I hope they got something out of the session because I know I did."
To see pictures from Liverpool's trip to Singapore, click here>>