He Should Do Well: Marvin Pourie (Liverpool)

Steve Heighway's departure from his post as the head of Liverpool's Academy may have created some uncertainty as to what the future might hold yet it doesn't seem to have hindered the planning process for next season.

A number of players have been having trials for the past few months and, of these, German striker Marvin Pourie has been impressive enough to warrant the offer of a contract which will see him join Liverpool on a free from Borussia Dortmund.

Thanks also to Heighway's insistence, Liverpool have resisted bringing in foreign players into their academy. Yet their only two imports - Danish goalkeeper Martin Hansen and Swedish midfielder Astrit Ajdarevic - played pivotal roles in their FA Youth Cup win. Indeed, Heighway had previously praised Ajdarevic, describing him as a real talent and a great choice.

The key, therefore, is the quality of the players concerned. Pourie, a striker who bears a passing resemblance to cult hero Erik Meijer, was an automatic choice in the youth squads at Dortmund and the fact that he was signed after the Liverpool coaches watched him closely during training indicates that they feel he is good enough.

Yet his omission from the German U17 squad at the European championships currently being held in Belgium has to be worrying.

Of course, there have been many players who were overlooked to represent their countries at youth level but who went on to star at a senior level. Steven Gerrard was one of them so there has to be a degree of faith that Liverpool’s scouts are more capable at spotting talent than those working for the German national side.

What is certain is that Pourie hasn’t been overlooked because he is too small: at 16 he is already six feet tall, which means that in him, Jordy Brouwer and Peter Crouch Liverpool will have tall strikers playing throughout all set-ups.