Liverpool's all-time academy XI | OneFootball

Liverpool fans know a good home-grown talent when they see one, with the Reds' academy having developed some of English football's finest talents.

Renowned across the footballing world for its ability to carve out some of the game's greats, multiple cup, Premier League and Champions League winners have been spawned out of the Liverpool academy. With plenty having grown up supporting the club or living in the city itself, it's something the Liverpool faithful remain immensely proud of to this day.

So to celebrate Liverpool's academy, GIVEMESPORT have put together a starting 11 made up of the best graduates from across the years.

GK - Caoimhin Kelleher

Probably the weakest position in this list in terms of depth in quality, Caoimhin Kelleher sneaks in as the first pick between the sticks. Still a Liverpool player of course, the Irish goalkeeper arrived in Merseyside as a teenager, where he quickly started to impress at youth level.

Kelleher made his senior debut in the 2019/20 League Cup, keeping a clean sheet during a third-round clash against MK Dons, before going on to establish himself as the second-choice pick behind Alisson Becker. And his crowning moment in a Liverpool shirt to date would come in the same competition three years later, when the Cork-born star scored the winning penalty in the final at Wembley against Chelsea.

RB - Trent Alexander-Arnold

From one current Red to another now, with Trent Alexander-Arnold taking up the starting spot at right-back. Few can argue with the inclusion of the West Derby-born starlet, who made his first senior appearance for Liverpool all the way back in October 2016.

It had been a long time coming for the local hero, who had been part of the academy system since 2004, but it didn't take long for Alexander-Arnold to make a name for himself in the side. His maiden goal came in the 2017/18 Champions League against 1899 Hoffenheim, while Alexander-Arnold would then go on to feature in all but two of Liverpool's games en route to winning the competition the following year. Who could forget that quick corner routine against Barcelona, ey?

CB - Jamie Carragher

Another one of Liverpool's Champions League-winning stars, albeit from a different generation now, Jamie Carragher was a staple in one of the Reds' greatest-ever sides. A Bootle boy, Carragher originally joined the Liverpool youth set-up during the 1980s, before going on to enjoy a fruitful career with the Merseyside outfit, which eventually ended up spanning a whopping four different decades.

Racking up over 700 appearances for Liverpool during that time, the one-club man Carragher won a total of 11 major honours during his stint with the Anfield outfit, including the lesser-seen League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup treble in 2001. However, it was during the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan that Carragher's most memorable achievement in a Liverpool shirt was secured. More on that to come...

CB - Tommy Smith

A fixture of the great Liverpool sides of the 1960s and 1970s, the late Tommy Smith is revered around Anfield for his contributions to the legendary Bill Shankly teams. In fact, such was the admiration the Scottish coach held for the no-nonsense defender, Shankly famously said 'Tommy Smith wasn't born, he was quarried' - a nod to his nickname the 'Anfield Iron'.

A two-time European Cup winner during his spell with the club, Smith would notch up over 600 appearances before leaving Liverpool in 1978, where he headed over to the United States to play for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Los Angeles Aztecs.

LB - Stephen Warnock

Another local(ish) lad and, you guessed it, another European champion. Stephen Warnock may have grown up just outside Liverpool in a town called Ormskirk, but it was in the Reds' academy where the left-back made his name.

Promoted to the senior side in 2002, Warnock would be forced to wait for opportunities in the side, but he eventually made his debut during a 2004/05 Champions League clash against Austrian outfit Grazer AK. Of course, Liverpool would go on to win the competition that season, with Warnock playing a bit-part role in the club's fifth European triumph.

Spells at Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Leeds United would follow after Liverpool, with Warnock having since taken up a punditry role post-retirement.

CM - Steven Gerrard

That magical night in Istanbul would likely not have been possible if it wasn't for the contributions of Steven Gerrard. A product of the Reds academy, Gerrard's career began back in 1989, with the Whiston-born star going on to spend nine years in the youth team set-up.

Having made his first-team debut in 1998, the classy midfielder would be influential in a number of Liverpool's successes in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but none more so than the second-half comeback against AC Milan at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Trailing 3-0 at the break, a Gerrard-inspired Liverpool would score three times in six second-half minutes, before the English international went on to lift the Champions League trophy as captain following a penalty shootout victory.

CM - Ian Callaghan

Not only is Ian Callaghan one of Liverpool's greatest-ever academy products, he's also the club's all-time record appearance holder, having played 857 matches for the famous club. Enjoying a career at Anfield which started out back in the 1950s, Callaghan was handed his debut as an 18-year-old by manager Shankly in April 1960, with his final appearance for Liverpool coming a whopping 18 years later in 1978.

A winner of five league titles during his time with the club, along with a further two European Cups, the dominative midfielder was a constant threat going forward and will rightly be remembered fondly on the Anfield terraces.

CM - Steve McManaman

Like many of his fellow former Reds on this list, Steve McManaman is also a former Champions League winner, but interestingly enough, his success didn't come during his time with the Merseyside outfit. Instead, McManaman won two European Cups as a Real Madrid player - the team he joined from Liverpool for £14 million back in 1999.

McManaman had been one of the brightest players in the academy set-up and was handed his debut by Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish in December 1990. A further 363 appearances for Liverpool would come before making the Real Madrid move nine years later, where McManaman enjoyed a profitable four-year spell with Los Blancos.

CAM - Raheem Sterling

While he may have gone on to establish himself as one of the best wingers in European football, Raheem Sterling takes up a position just behind the two strikers in this starting-11 of Liverpool academy graduates. Of course, that is the position where Sterling somewhat made his name under former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, with the teenage prodigy starring in the Reds' 2013/14 title challenge.

Liverpool would fall short that year, with Sterling - who had spent two years developing in the Liverpool academy - sold to Manchester City for £50 million the following season. A winner of multiple league titles during his time with the Manchester-based outfit, Sterling now plys his trade for Chelsea.

ST - Robbie Fowler

Despite growing up an Everton supporter, nowadays the Toxeth-born Robbie Fowler is about as Liverpool as it gets, with the marksman another favourite of the Kop. Dropped into the Liverpool academy aged nine, Fowler would spend nine years developing there, before being handed his first-team debut in 1993 - a match the striker would find the net in as well.

Over 360 more appearances and 180 goals would follow for Fowler, who lifted multiple trophies, including the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup during his nine years as a first-team regular at Anfield. Moves to Leeds United and Manchester City would take Fowler away from Liverpool for six years, before he returned for one more season in the 2006/07 campaign.

ST - Michael Owen

Part of the reason why Fowler was forced to leave Anfield was because of the emergence of his strike partner in this concept XI. In the same year that Fowler left Liverpool, Michael Owen was picking up the Ballon d'Or, having won the prestigious award for his performances throughout 2001.

He remains the last English player to win the Ballon d'Or, with his journey to the top having started in the Liverpool academy 10 years prior. Making his senior debut in 1996, Owen featured close to 300 times for the Reds, while scoring on 158 occasions during his eight years in the first-team. Moves to Real Madrid and Newcastle United would follow for the striker, before a controversial switch to rivals Manchester United in 2009. Still, Owen remains one of the best strikers in Liverpool's history, with it having all started out for him in the youth team.