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As a clear way to develop hand-picked members of the academy to fast-track their development, Liverpool will often send players out on loan.

Should the right club be chosen, Liverpool then have a returning player who has grown as a professional for the experience, and a relationship then develops between the two loaning clubs.

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Just as many former or loaned-out Arsenal players can be found at Crystal Palace or Fulham, think Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah, Liverpool have clubs who they trust to develop players.

Most recently, you will have seen the successful loan of Fabio Carvalho last season at Hull City - who notably took on a lot of clubs' loaned talent in that campaign - who is now permanently at Brentford, as well as the current major loans of Stefan Bajcetic at RB Salzburg and Ben Doak at Middlesbrough.

The mechanism is a really useful way of giving a prospect the minutes they require in order to develop, while not disturbing the current first-team set-up.

However, deciding which club to loan to, that will care and nurture your players while challenging them the right way, can be a difficult process.

In sending out 21-year-old midfielder Luca Stephenson to Dundee United, it seems as though Liverpool have found a perfect match.

Stephenson's success in Scotland

Playing 13 games, Stephenson has been given regular minutes in his preferred position - central midfield - and he has proved to be a really effective asset for Dundee.

Scoring three goals while assisting twice, he has been chipping in when his team need him and the club couldn't be more delighted that the move has proved fruitful.

In a recent article from The Courier, the Terrors' manager Jim Goodwin was full of praise for Stephenson's efforts and his relationship with Liverpool, speaking about how grateful he was to work with Liverpool's loanees.

He said: "You look at a club like Liverpool, in particular; they have a brilliant academy down there with a lot of really good players with high potential. It can only be a good thing for Dundee United that we’ve given Luca a platform to be successful.

“With Luca’s loan going well and how well [Leighton] Clarkson did at Aberdeen (under Goodwin), that hopefully makes my conversations with Liverpool very simple and straightforward.

“These deals should be something that benefits all parties, and long may that continue.”

Liverpool prides itself on having an academy that is filled to the brim with talented players, and while some are more favoured by others, it makes little sense to have all of them working at the training ground playing for the different age categories, when some simply require a run-out at a professional level.

Clarkson, who Goodwin mentioned he worked with at Aberdeen, had a number of different loan moves, one of which was at Aberdeen, and in 2023, he made the transfer permanent, as Liverpool couldn't quite envisage a pathway for him to break into the first-team.

Be it with Goodwin specifically, or Dundee as a club environment, it is really positive news to see the club developing ties that will help assist future loan moves that are required, and with the player growing in character and confidence while away from the club, it is clear that Liverpool made the right choice.

The balance of finding the right loan moves for players

Of course, Liverpool will not want players to get too comfortable in Scotland, otherwise they may wish to move away from the club permanently, but having an outlet to give academy players experience can be incredibly useful.

Think back to Bajcetic on loan to Salzburg, a team that is seemingly on the verge of implosion under former Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders, finding it really difficult to get a win, looking likely to exit the Champions League in the 'league phase' because they've lost five of their six matches.

While he is getting the fitness he needs, slowly but surely, there is a cloud looming over the environment that he is developing in, as a result of the negativity surrounding the club at the moment.

Whereas for Doak over at Middlesbrough, he is enjoying his time in the northeast so much, that he is reportedly against being recalled into Liverpool's first team in January, as a result of him finally being able to find his rhythm while on loan.

The balance can be fine, and not every loan is going to be a success, but so far this season, it seems that Liverpool have been making the right decisions for both their players in the club, and outside the club on loan.

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