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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Josh Williams

Mohamed Salah and £100m transfer prove Liverpool and Chelsea are worlds apart

Liverpool will meet Chelsea on Sunday afternoon to determine the winners of this year's Carabao Cup.

A number of academy graduates will represent the two clubs, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mason Mount, Curtis Jones, Trevoh Chalobah, Caoimhin Kelleher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to name but a few.

Reece James is another who could be included on the list. The English right-back is one of Thomas Tuchel's key players, although he's a doubt for the upcoming contest due to injury.

Despite the common ground shared between the two clubs when it comes to unearthing stars, Liverpool seem a lot more patient in their quest to polish a rough diamond from their own setup.

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Jurgen Klopp has refined Alexander-Arnold's game since the Scouse defender emerged and began to redefine the role of full-back at Anfield, and Jones is hopefully set to follow a similar path, with the Reds coach appearing keen to present him with minutes on the field to shine.

Chelsea have formed a team around James and Mount in particular under Tuchel, but a countless number of future stars have left the club in recent times. They appear more willing to cut ties with players who possess bags of potential.

Tammy Abraham is contracted to AS Roma now and as it stands, only three players in Serie A have scored more non-penalty goals than his total of 10 this season. He remains just 24-years-old, and he's English and homegrown.

Tino Livramento is a further example of a player who has thrived at Southampton since leaving, as well as Tariq Lamptey who is now contracted to Brighton and Hove Albion. It is reasonable to suggest that Liverpool would have been eager to keep both, or at least one as a rotation option for Alexander-Arnold.

Fiyako Tomori and Marc Gueyi were sold by the London club over the summer for a combined total of around £55m. The two centre-backs are aged 24 and 21, and they each have very modern skills attached to their game, with Tomori performing well in his two Champions League matches against Liverpool earlier this season.

The Reds are willing to wait for their stars. The club allow spaces in their squad to open up so that youth graduates can fill them but at Stamford Bridge, the demand for immediate consistency can often hinder their prospects and force them out the door.

Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja - who has been linked with Arsenal of late - are both on loan from Chelsea at the moment. The duo are impressing for Crystal Palace and Southampton, although it remains to be seen as to whether they will return to feature for their parent club next season.

Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are three further illustrations of the impatience at Stamford Bridge.

None of the three graduated from the club's academy, but Chelsea did proceed to sell the trio rather than waiting for them to progress and managing their inefficiencies along the way.

In Lukaku's case, the club re-signed him seven years later for almost £100m.

The two English heavyweights have proved to be very different when it comes to squad building over the past decade.

Future gems regularly emerged at both clubs - perhaps even more so at Chelsea - but Liverpool seem far more intent on allowing time for them to reach their ceiling.

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