Liverpool Academy manager Alex Inglethorpe has welcomed the decision for the Premier League 2 changing its age limit from under-23s to under-21s for the 2022/23 season.
Barry Lewtas is currently in charge of Liverpool's under-23s side, who finished fourth in the division standings last season. His team compete in the Premier League 2, a competition that replaced the under-21s Premier League from the 2016/17 campaign.
Cameron Brannagan and Harry Wilson are two examples of players who have arguably highlighted flaws with the current system, having been too old to represent the under-18s, too strong for under-23s level but not quite at the required level for the first-team. Loan moves soon followed to EFL sides, before both individuals eventually left the club on a permanent basis.
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Change is on the way for next season, however, with a decision to revert to the previous age bracket being made. Explaining why this outcome is a step in the right direction, Inglethorpe told liverpoolfc.com: "I welcome that because it gets it back to the reality of what it actually is – which is an U19 league, in my opinion. Therefore, it allows players to play in it who are slightly older and I guess every club is going to do it slightly differently.
"For us, it doesn’t and it won’t change anything. Sometimes you can have players that you know are too good for the level and I think that can be equally as frustrating. I remember when Neil Critchley was in charge of the U23s and he mentioned to me that a few of the boys had gone past this and they needed another challenge because it had become too easy for them. If you look at our U23s side, the average age of the team is 18.94 in Premier League 2. Really, it’s an U19 league."
One player who supports Inglethorpe's theory of an 'U19 league' being the reality of the Premier League 2 is Tyler Morton, who was a regular for Lewtas' side but was also handed senior opportunities by Klopp. The 19-year-old midfielder featured in all four first-team competitions, demonstrating pathways remain available to players at Academy level.
"Again, the continuous message or the compliment the first team have paid us is that Tyler would be representative of when the boys go up there they have to be humble, they’ve got to have the confidence to go and play there," said Inglethorpe.
"Tyler certainly is that. He’s willing to learn, he’s fully committed to the club, he’s prepared to be patient and he’s been rewarded with starts in all four competitions last season. He also knows he’s got a lot to do. He’s got an awful lot to do to be able to wrestle the shirt off the players who are currently in there, but what an experience to be able to go and play the games he has played and contribute the way he did."
