Comolli: We want next Asian star
Damien Comolli believes Liverpool now have the scouting network in place to unearth an Asian star of the future.
The club's director of football feels the Far East is a real source of potential talent for the Reds and points to the decision to take two Chinese youngsters on trial as proof that they are making great strides in that area.
Comolli told Liverpoolfc.tv: "We think it's an untapped market. It has such a vast population and there are an incredible number of youngsters playing football in that part of the world.
"Statistically we think there will be good players coming out of these countries. With China being the biggest one and football being the most popular sport amongst young people, we feel it is an opportunity to find a quality player."
Earlier this year, Liverpool's youth-base welcomed a young duo from Korea to Kirkby and now the Reds are running the rule over two starlets from China.
Long Chen, 16, and Chen Xiao Mao, 14, have already made a good impression with the U16s and Comolli hopes they enjoy their experience - regardless of what happens at the end of the week.
"It's all part of the network we have developed in China," he said.
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"We spoke to people before we travelled there with the first-team in the summer and while I was out there I went to see a few games. I looked at a few of their players in the U16 age group and younger.
"We said to the people over there, that if they had players that they thought would interest us, they should bring them over.
"Once we sorted the visa we were able to do that and it's interesting for us to see them training with some of our Academy players.
"We just want to see how they compare with our players of a similar age. We have a very good group of U16 and U17 players.
"From what I have seen so far, these two boys are of a higher level than the players I saw in China in the summer.
"One of them is particularly strong physically. We will do all sorts of tests, technically and physically to see how they react to training and games.
"We'll take it from there. We don't want to put them under massive pressure because we want them to have a good experience and enjoy being at Liverpool Football Club."
The club's desire to leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of the best young talent means the Academy is beginning to improve on both a local and global level.
Comolli admits he has been satisfied by the progress that has been made over the past few years and is confident young players will now see Liverpool as the place to be.
He added: "I think the beauty of the Academy at Liverpool is that we do both - if you look at the players who are now in the first-team and coming from the Academy, they are from Liverpool or around the local area. Then we have other players from all over the world.
"It's just the beauty of the Barclays Premier League at the moment. We are very attractive for everyone around the world and thankfully we have the financial resources to scout on a global scale and that makes it very interesting."