The careers of Andre Wisdom and Tiago Ilori are at something of a crossroads this summer. Both players are now 22 and are at the stage where they need to be making an impact on the bigger stage.
Wisdom signed a new contract this summer and went on our tour of the Far East. Unfortunately, he featured for just 45 minutes and is now preparing for a third successive season out on loan, this time with Norwich City.
Liverpool paid £7m for Ilori two summers ago (via the Echo), an immense amount of money for a player who has never featured in a single minute of first-team football for his parent club. He impressed at the European Under-21 Championships earlier this year, but the sheer number of players ahead of him in the pecking order suggest that chances to show what he can do are going to be few and far between.
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Sadly, not every academy graduate can become the next Jamie Carragher, or even the next Jon Flanagan. In the list below, we look back at ten young defenders who have failed to make their mark over the last decade.
Daniel Ayala
Liverpool signed the young Spaniard from Sevilla in 2007. The teenager helped our reserve side to league glory in his debut season and was widely expected to kick on. Unfortunately, loan spells with Hull City and Derby County failed to produced the desired results and he ended up joining Norwich in 2011, having made just five appearances for our first-team. He’s now at Middlesbrough and seems to have found his level with the Championship side.
Sebastian Coates
This was a case of what might have been. The Uruguayan, who has regularly played in the same international side as Luis Suarez and co, was one of the highest rated defenders in world football when we signed him in 2011. Sadly, injury problems hugely limited his impact at Anfield and he spent more than a year on the sidelines. He joined Sunderland on loan last season and, having helped guide the Black Cats to survival, made the move permanent.
Stephen Darby
Darby was promoted from our academy side in 2006. He spent the next six years trying to make the grade, undertaking loan spells with Swindon, Notts County and Rochdale, and was dubbed ‘Mr. Consistency’ by our reserve team boss Gary Ablett. He made his solitary Premier League appearance as a late substitute in January 2010, coming on for Philipp Degen against Tottenham. He moved to Bradford in 2012, where he is club captain.
Jack Hobbs
Hobbs signed for Liverpool from Lincoln City in 2005 after a successful trial. He made five first-team appearances, including two in the Premier League, during the 2007-08 season and impressed enough to earn a season-long loan move to Leicester City. He helped the Foxes win promotion from League One and was eventually signed on a permanent basis. He’s since had a spell at Hull City and is now with Nottingham Forest.
Martin Kelly
Many Liverpool fans hoped that Kelly would follow in Carragher’s footsteps. He looked to be well on the way to doing so after making his England debut in 2012, but a long-term injury saw him slip well down the pecking order for both club and country. His near two decade career on Merseyside eventually came to an end in 2014, after an impressive 62 first-team appearances, and he joined Crystal Palace. He did well last year, playing 34 times in all.
Gabriel Paletta
Paletta spent a single season at Liverpool. He was signed in 2006 and made eight appearances in all competitions over the next year, including three in the Premier League. The Argentinian-born defender was expected to go out on loan the following year, but was eventually sold instead, returning home to join Boca Juniors. He’s since gone on to enjoy great success in Italy, playing for Parma and AC Milan, and even earning three national team caps.
Lee Peltier
A product of Liverpool’s academy side. He made the step up to the first-team squad in 2004 and soon went out on loan to both Hull and Yeovil. The Glovers eventually signed him on a permanent basis after he impressed with the League One side. His career has since taken him to Huddersfield, Leicester, Leeds and Nottingham Forest. In January he joined Cardiff City and will be looking to get the Welsh giants back in to the Premier League next year.
Jack Robinson
The young left-back was coming through at a similar time to Flanagan and it was hoped that the pair could become our future full-backs. Unfortunately, Robinson lacked a little bit of quality in comparison to his former teammate, and was subsequently shipped out after making three top flight appearances for the Reds. He joined QPR last summer and was immediately loaned out to Huddersfield, making 30 appearances for them last season.
Mikel San Jose
The Spaniard signed for Liverpool in 2007 but never made an appearance during his three years at the club. Athletic Bilbao took a chance on him in 2010 and he’s since become one of La Liga’s most formidable defenders, as well as a fully-fledged Spanish international. The one that got a way without a doubt… He’s made more than 200 appearances in all competitions for the Basque side, reaching the Europa League final and two Spanish cup finals.
Danny Wilson
Wilson joined Liverpool from Rangers in 2010, having already established himself as a semi-regular in the SPL. The youngster found the going much tougher in the Premier League, managing just two top flight appearances during his three years at the club. During that time he was loaned out on three separate occasions before making the latter of those moves a permanent one in 2013, joining Hearts. He then switched back to Rangers this summer.
