Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham had all “tracked” Leeds attacking midfielder Finley Gorman before Manchester City won the race to sign the teenager, according to The Athletic.

The website revealed earlier this week that the 15-year-old is set to join the Premier League champions, having paid a British record fee for the 15-year-old.

Gorman has gained attention in recent years with clips of his skills being shared across social media, but it is believed that City have been keeping tabs on him right through every age group.

The midfielder had already made his debut for England’s Under 16s when he was still 14, and there is clearly a lot of hype surrounding the youngster’s future.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, it appears they were not quick enough to beat their rivals for Gorman’s signature, with City set to pay seven figures in order to snap up the player who won’t turn professional for another two years.

The Reds have had some success in recruiting youth players

Although they have missed out on Gorman, Jurgen Klopp’s side have won their fair share of battles in order to secure young talent.

Back in 2019, they recruited Harvey Elliott from Fulham, with the midfielder having gone on to make a big impression in the first team over the last few seasons.

Ben Doak was also recruited from Celtic and the Scotland youth international has been given some starts in the Europa League this campaign.

Brexit has affected youth recruitment at Liverpool and other Premier League teams

After the UK left the European Union, English clubs were effectively banned from signing players from abroad who were under 18 years of age. That led to Premier League clubs placing extra emphasis on recruiting homegrown players for their academies.

However, last summer, the UK Home Office did ease these ease restrictions slightly. A points-based system has been introduced for a category called ‘International Sportsperson’.

This is effectively a new exemption route for clubs to sign young players from abroad. However, there are limitations. Each club will only get four spots, and this can be reduced to two depending on the number of minutes on the pitch English players get in their squads.

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