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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

How Liverpool could line up in five years' time after aggressive new transfer policy

Everyone associated with Liverpool will have their sights set firmly on what promises to be an action-packed, dramatic finale to the Premier League season, but plans for the future appear to be coming along nicely.

For so long, the Reds have been able to call upon the same vital players to help keep them battling it out for every major honour alongside rivals Manchester City. The likes of skipper Jordan Henderson, talismanic forwards Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have long been match-winners for Jurgen Klopp's side.

While that should remain the case for the near future, five years down the line Liverpool's first-choice options could look drastically different to the players we see lighting up Anfield at the moment. Many of the stars that could still have a huge part to play in this term's ending could be long gone.

In their place, will undoubtedly be a squad mixed with a healthy amount of experience playing with some dazzling youth talent who in theory should be operating at their prime by the time 2027 rolls around. At least, that's what the Liverpool hierarchy will hope given their recent transfer activity.

Owners Fenway Sports Group have often been accused of not proving Klopp with all the financial tools to compete with Man City. Anfield has seen far less ready-made superstars walk through its doors in recent years than the Etihad.

That has remained the case over the last 12 months and will seemingly stay that way moving forward if reports are to be believed. The first example would be the imminent deal for Celtic winger Ben Doak.

16-year-old Ben Doak will be eligible to play for Liverpool next season onwards (@TheRedmenTV/Twitter)

HAVE YOUR SAY! Are Liverpool planning well for the future? Comment below

At just 16 years of age, the young Scotsman has agreed a deal in principle with Liverpool and will swap Glasgow for Merseyside in the summer. Doak has not even signed professional terms with Celtic yet, despite making his debut in January and ignored interest from Leeds to ply his trade under Klopp from next season onwards.

He is not the only youngster Liverpool-bound, with highly-rated Fulham attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho following a similar path as Reds talent Harvey Elliot from Craven Cottage to Anfield. The England Under-21 star was wanted by the Reds in January, but a deal failed to materialise in time before the window's close.

The transfer, worth up to £7.7m, is expected to be announced as soon as next month given Carvalho already underwent a medical and agreed personal terms. The 19-year-old has featured 31 times for Fulham and bagged eights goals and seven assists across all competitions.

How Liverpool could line-up in five years time (MirrorFootball)

The Reds already boast some very promising youngsters, with Elliot and Curtis Jones two homegrown talents that have become established players within the Liverpool first-team fold. While Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz hardly fall under the bracket of 'youth' stars, the pair are still only 25 and are likely to have become even better in five years time.

The same goes for central defender Ibrahima Konate, who was purchased from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig just shy of 12 months ago and has impressed for the most part during his debut campaign. At just 22 years of age, there is plenty more to come from the centre-back.

Given all three of Salah, Mane and Firmino will be 30 by June, there could be plenty of upheaval at Anfield soon - but those overseeing the recruitment process are already taking steps to ensure Liverpool continues to run smoothly.

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