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Jürgen Klopp once spoke about his dream for Liverpool. “The dream is to have a team full of ‘Scousers’.” He also explained that Liverpool should be “the spot for everybody with a Scouse soul.” Those weren’t just nice words — Klopp was talking about the importance of creating a pathway from the academy into the first team. And that makes Curtis Jones’ impending departure particularly sad. Because once Jones leaves for Inter Milan, Liverpool could have no Liverpool-born player in their first-team squad for the first time in the club’s history. That’s a remarkable statistic for a club with such a strong connection to its city. Curtis Jones represented something bigger Jones wasn’t just another academy graduate. He was a Scouser playing for Liverpool. He grew up supporting the club, came through the academy and eventually pulled on the famous red shirt in front of his own people. He understood what the derby meant. He understood what Anfield meant. And he understood the responsibility that came with representing Liverpool as a local lad. As Jones himself said after the Merseyside derby earlier this year, “As a Scouser, it is everything.” That’s something you can’t buy. The academy pathway matters This isn’t an argument that Liverpool should select players simply because they’re from Liverpool. Klopp himself made that clear. His message was that if you’re talented, love football and are prepared to work, the door should be open. That’s the important part. Liverpool shouldn’t manufacture Scousers. They should create opportunities for them. Trent Alexander-Arnold proved that pathway can produce one of the greatest full-backs in the club’s history. Jones followed. And now the question is: Who’s next? Could Trey Nyoni be part of the answer? This is why I think Liverpool’s current group of youngsters is so important. Trey Nyoni, Lewis Koumas, James McConnell and the other academy players training around the first team have an opportunity. Iraola has already shown a willingness to give young players a chance. If one of these youngsters develops into a first-team regular, the connection between Liverpool and its academy remains incredibly strong. And perhaps that’s the positive we should take from Jones leaving. His departure creates an opportunity for somebody else. But Liverpool should never lose that Scouse identity Liverpool is a global football club. It has supporters all over the world. It attracts some of the best players on the planet. That’s absolutely right. But the global nature of Liverpool shouldn’t mean forgetting where the club comes from. The connection between the city and the football club is one of the things that makes Liverpool different. That’s why seeing a local lad score at Anfield means something slightly different. That’s why Jones celebrating a goal means something different. And that’s why losing him feels more significant than simply losing another squad player. Klopp’s dream hasn’t disappeared Maybe Klopp’s dream of a team full of Scousers was always unrealistic. But the principle behind it shouldn’t disappear. Give local youngsters a pathway. Give them opportunities. If they’re good enough, play them. And if the next Curtis Jones, Steven Gerrard or Trent Alexander-Arnold is sitting somewhere in Liverpool’s academy, make sure he knows that Anfield is still his destination. Curtis Jones leaving may mean Liverpool are about to enter a new era without a Liverpool-born player in the first team. But hopefully it doesn’t mean the end of the Scouse soul Klopp talked so passionately about. The door at Liverpool’s academy must remain wide open. Because one day, the next Scouser could walk through it. Jamie (The Kopite View)