Ayre: Our Academy is priceless
After watching seven Academy talents make their senior debut during the 2012-13 season, Ian Ayre has insisted that you cannot put a price on the work being done in Kirkby.
Jordon Ibe completed a magnificent septet for the Reds on the final day of the campaign, following in the footsteps of Conor Coady, Adam Morgan, Jerome Sinclair, Suso, Andre Wisdom and Samed Yesil.
"It's a big investment but it's money well spent," Ayre, the club's managing director, told the Liverpool Echo.
"Both John Henry and Tom Werner have been to the Academy and they see it as a pipeline to success. You can't really put a price on it.
"How do you put a price on the contribution we've had over the years from Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher? The owners are hugely supportive and see great value in the work that's done at the Academy.
"When Brendan came in last year we made significant changes to the way we play football and run the club. One of the things on his CV was that he understood the operation at the Academy, embraces youth and sees the value of bringing players through.
"To have seven debuts in one season says it all and hopefully it's the start of something special. We are blessed with the talent we've got coming through now and that's testament to Frank and his team. The challenge is to keep it going.
"It's a constant process and you have to keep feeding it from the bottom. Some of the work Frank and his team are doing today with the younger age groups we won't see the value of for another 10 years."
Academy director Frank McParland echoed those sentiments and explained the level of interest taken by Brendan Rodgers in the aspiring youngsters.
He added: "To get seven debuts in one season is great and we've had a successful year. Every time one of the lads breaks through it lifts everyone's spirits at the Academy.
"To play one or two games is a great buzz for the boy and his parents, but what we are desperate for is to get players into the first team who are going to stay there. No-one is a complete success for us as an Academy until he has played 100 first-team games.
"The main thing for all the young lads is that they can see a pathway through to Melwood. You can have the best Academy in the world but if the manager doesn't play your players it's not worth having.
"We have a fantastic relationship with Brendan and his staff. Brendan is often down at the Academy, and so are Mike Marsh, Colin Pascoe and John Achterberg.
"Brendan is passionate about youth development. He has done every job at youth level and always wants to know how the kids are progressing.
"Some managers go away during the international breaks but Brendan will ring up and say 'send the U15s down today' and they will go and train with the first-team players. The fact there is one style of play running throughout the club helps.
"The Academy has got stronger thanks to the work of the coaches and scouts bringing in better players to raise the standard so technically when players go to Melwood they can hold their own. We are on two sites but we are one club.
"We have some really talented young Scouse lads who I believe will come through into the first team over the next few years.
"There are two or three local boys who have a very good chance. We're probably two or three years away from seeing the real value of that. It's our job to find the next Carra."
McParland's confidence in local talent will be music to the ears of Ayre, who has consistently pledged that Liverpool will always maintain a Scouse heart within the senior team.
"Jamie epitomises what we're trying to achieve at the Academy. He came all the way through the system from the age of nine and was a wonderful servant to the club," he said.
"Jamie and Steven are the two best examples of what Frank turns up for work for every day. We've seen the likes of Martin Kelly, Jon Flanagan and Jack Robinson come through in recent years and we want other local lads to carry that on.
"I've been watching Liverpool since about 1965 and I can't remember a Liverpool team which didn't have a Scouser in it. I hope that never happens. They have to be good enough but hopefully there will always be local players in there."