Liverpool’s hellish campaign could yet have a silver lining.
As the senior side scratch around for something to salvage their season, the club’s youngsters are on the trophy trail.
On Friday, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s Under-18s take on Arsenal in the quarter-final of the FA Youth Cup. The game will be played at Anfield, with the winners away to either Ipswich Town or Sheffield United in the last four.
Liverpool won the competition in 2019, and they will fancy their chances of a repeat this time around.
They have already beaten both Manchester United and Leicester City en route to the quarters, and with tournament favourites Manchester City and Chelsea both eliminated, they could hardly ask for a better opportunity.
They certainly have the fire-power. They have scored 84 times in all competitions this season, and boast a number of outstanding individual talents.
Take James Balagizi, whose hat-trick helped see off Leicester in the last 16.
Remarkably, those were the England U17 international’s first goals of the season, but his ability stands out a mile at this level, whether as part of a midfield three or, on occasion, when playing further forward.
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Balagizi joined the Reds from Manchester City at the age of 10, and has been earmarked as a player of huge potential.
Physically precocious, but with quick feet, imagination and an eye for a killer pass, he signed his first professional contract at Anfield in September, and has already been called up to train with Jurgen Klopp’s senior squad. He is, in every sense, one to watch.
“He’s come on leaps and bounds,” says Bridge-Wilkinson. “He’s a character, great to have around, and his performances in recent weeks have just got better and better.”
So, too, have those of Poland youth international Mateusz Musialowski, who has enjoyed a highly-impressive first season on Merseyside.
The diminutive, left-footed forward arrived from SMS Lodz last August, and has already reached 10 goals.
One of those, a solo effort against Newcastle, won Liverpool’s goal of the month award for March – the first time a player outside of the first-team squad had achieved such a feat since Adam Morgan in 2013.
Musialowski impressed senior players during an 11v11 training match at Kirkby during the most recent international break and has been compared – tentatively, it must be said – to Eden Hazard by academy staff. Certainly, his close control and ability to change direction at high speed catches the eye.
Liverpool, however, will be without Layton Stewart, their top scorer, due to injury, with the 18-year-old having suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament playing for the U23s against West Ham in March.
Stewart scored 15 times for the U18s before Christmas, including two hat-tricks, but it is another young goalscorer, Max Woltman, who has stepped up to the plate in recent weeks.
Woltman has netted a dozen goals, including nine in his last eight appearances. Small in stature, but sharp in his movement, comfortable off either foot and blessed with a relentless work ethic, the Wirral-born frontman has emerged as one of Bridge-Wilkinson’s key men.
“Maxi has stepped into a void, playing a slightly different role to what he’s used to,” says the manager. “But he’s adapted brilliantly.
“To lead the line the way he has, he deserves a lot of credit for that.”
The performances of January signing Kaide Gordon, too, have been hugely encouraging.
Gordon does not turn 17 until October, and so does not yet have a profile on Liverpool’s official website, but he has already played senior football in the Championship for former club Derby County, and Liverpool saw enough potential in the England schoolboy international to agree a compensation fee which may reach close to £3million ($4.1m) if all criteria is met.
Gordon, like Balagizi, Musialowski and Woltman, has been in fine goalscoring form of late, scoring five times in his last four outings, and Bridge-Wilkinson can also, if needed, call on Melkamu Frauendorf, an Ethiopia-born Germany youth international signed from Hoffenheim last summer, as well as Dom Corness, a midfielder whose left-footed delivery from set-pieces is a huge weapon.
And then there is Tyler Morton, another Wirral-born starlet, who has already established himself at U23 level.
The 18-year-old idolises Thiago Alcantara, but has a pleasing knack of scoring goals from midfield. He already has nine this season, a valuable return in any team, let alone one which has been denied the services of not only Stewart, but also the highly-rated Tom Hill, who suffered a serious knee injury on the eve of the campaign.
Liverpool's defence on Friday, meanwhile, is likely to be boosted by the presence of Billy Koumetio, the France U18 international who made a big impression on Jurgen Klopp during pre-season with the senior squad.
“Billy the Kid”, as Klopp calls him, has spent the bulk of the season training with the first-team group, and made his debut in the Champions League against FC Midtjylland in December.
A left-footed centre-back with bags of speed and power, he only turned 18 in November and is tipped for a bright future at the club, if he can continue to develop at his current rate.
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It is not easy, of course, to make the jump from youth team to first team, although it is encouraging to note that several of Liverpool’s 2019 trophy-winning side have made significant strides in that regard.
Neco Williams, Rhys Williams and Leighton Clarkson, for example, have all played in the Champions League – the two Williamses have made 38 senior appearances between them - while Jake Cain has been on the bench 11 times this season and trains regularly with Klopp’s senior group.
Others, such as Viteszlav Jaros and Morgan Boyes, have picked up first-team experience out on loan.
“It’s not something we’d necessarily mention to the players,” Bridge-Wilkinson says, “but it’s something they are aware of, for sure.
“Hopefully they take on the challenge, and fingers crossed there might be a few in Friday’s team that go on to do what Neco and Curtis [Jones] and even Trent [Alexander-Arnold] have done.”
So there it is, the chance to catch the eye on the big stage, and the chance to ensure a forgettable season ends in memorable fashion.
Anfield awaits, for Bridge-Wilkinson and the Class of 2021.