However Jürgen Klopp’s final season as Liverpool FC manager ends, his legacy is already right in front of your eyes. When Mateusz Musiałowski came on to make his first-team debut against AC Sparta Praha in the UEFA Europa League at Anfield, the Polish winger was the 90th player that Klopp had handed a first-team debut to. 56 of them have been aged 20 or under.

The manager’s faith in Liverpool FC’s Academy and his young players was never more evident than in the Carabao Cup final when the victorious Reds ended the game with substitutes Bobby Clark, Jarell Quansah, James McConnell and Jayden Danns on the pitch. Conor Bradley, Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch had all started, Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni were unused substitutes. All are aged between 16 and 21.

Andy Robertson was 23 when he made his Reds debut under Klopp back in August 2017. Seven years, seven major honours and almost 300 appearances later he isn’t quite a veteran left-back at 30, but is honest enough to admit he’s been feeling a little older on the AXA Training Centre pitches in recent times!

“Maybe a little bit, yes, with the amount of young lads we had with us,” he says. “We’ve had 16 and 17-year-olds with us at times and the squad was more young lads than experienced lads. So yes, it probably made you feel a little bit older, but the way the young lads stepped up was magnificent to see and I think we all took a sense of pride in that.”

It is one thing stepping up from the Academy to train with the senior stars, it’s another settling in and showing what you can do both on the training field and on matchdays. Robbo went through something similar when he signed for Dundee United FC back home in Scotland aged 19. It was challenging, but with all due respect to the Terrors, stepping up at Liverpool FC is another level so the Reds no.26 appreciates what it feels like to be a young player mixing it with the senior stars and understands the value of young and older training together.

“I think it's always the way that youngsters get more and more comfortable the more that they're around you,” he says. “They can actually look at you and then they start talking and all of a sudden you start seeing their character coming out. I think that's always been the way in changing rooms.

“I think back to when I was a young lad - the more that you train and the more you play, the more you get comfortable. Then you start seeing the side to them where they can express their personalities, so they've been a breath of fresh air.

“They’ve got no fear, the young lads, and all credit to the Academy for having them that way. We’ve needed them and they've stepped up massively. We wouldn’t have been able to get the results that we have if it wasn’t for all of them.”

Of all the ‘Klopp kids’ who have made an impact this season, one in particular has caught the Scotland skipper’s eye. Even before he scored his first senior goal against AC Sparta Praha in that 6-1 UEFA Europa League win at Anfield, Bobby Clark had turned in some impressive displays and Robbo believes the 19-year-old has come on leaps and bounds during season 2023/24.

“I think they’ve all been excellent, but for me the big improver that I've seen in terms of making the last step would have to be Bobby Clark. I think he’s really come into his own this season, he’s really kind of turned into a man. He’s made big improvements.

“The quality was always there with Bobby, it was just about making the next step and I think defensively and the way he goes about his business, that's just different now. He's got a presence about him, Bobby, and I think this season he's really stepped up. I think now everyone's seen the potential that we've all seen he’s got, but now we're seeing it on the big stage, which is pleasing.”

Young players need leaders to guide them, especially at a club like Liverpool FC where expectations are high, and that’s where the likes of Clark, Quansah, Bradley, Danns and co are fortunate. Robbo is one of seven players to have captained the Reds from the start of games so far in season 2023/14 - Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah, Curtis Jones, Joe Gomez and Alisson being the others - and each, in their own rights, have different qualities and experiences.

Robertson is officially third in the captaincy pecking order after Virgil and Trent He feels wearing the armband is something that fits his personality and says he and the leadership group get a sense of pride in seeing the young players flourish.

“I think one thing in football that comes naturally to me is leadership,” he says. “I've always been vocal, even when I was a younger player, and I’ve always been a talker on the pitch. Communication has always been key.

“I’m captain of my country so I’m used to it, but we’ve all got to step up. Obviously we lost Henderson and we lost Milner, who were two big figures in the changing room, so we had to step up, especially the boys in the leadership group.

“I think we've all done that. We've all come together and helped in whatever ways we can and now it’s about helping the young lads and letting them go and flourish because we need them with all the injuries that we’ve had.

“It changes all the time in football with what you need to do, with what’s important, and I think we’ve all dealt with things very well. I think that's been the most pleasing thing for the experienced lads, just seeing how much the younger lads are enjoying it.”