Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders says any young player selected for the Carabao Cup is there on merit.
Lijnders insists they're choosing teams to win the competition.
Ahead of their clash at Bournemouth, he said: "What the biggest clubs in the world have is a club mentality from a very young age, same style, the coaches have just one target to teach them the values of the club. Alex Inglethorpe has been at the club 10 years as academy director, Jurgen Klopp here for eight years. Barry Lewtas was here as a young player, now under-23s manager, all these people, me included, we want this path to be open, so you create a healthy, stable club with that culture.
"Buildings are buildings, it's about the people who sit in it. The people I mentioned, the consistency we have, that creates a pathway. It was not easy to leave Melwood behind [in 2020, for a new training base in Kirkby], but in time we create something here.
"One thing is making your debut, it's another to win a prize. We want players who win prizes, not just make their debuts. From a young age we want them in finals, competing, that mentality. We have that in the seniors, who won everything with us, and we have young players educated from a young age in the Liverpool mystique."