Damien Comolli Looks East for Liverpool’s Next Asian Star

Director of football Damien Comolli believes it is only a matter of time before another star player emerges from the Far East. The Liverpool executive works hard to ensure that the future star will call Anfield home, according to LiverpoolFC.tv.

"We think it's an untapped market." Comolli said of the soccer scene in China. "It has such a vast population and there are an incredible number of youngsters playing football in that part of the world."

As part of its Asian preseason tour, Liverpool developed a scouting network in the region. Comolli believes local contacts can identify promising talents and bring them for the club for further assessment. Two Korean players spent time at the club earlier this season. Two Chinese teenagers are currently training at the club's academy. 

Lung Chan and Chen Nal, 16 and 15 respectively, are spending this week with the club's U-16 team. Both the players and the club hope to make good impressions on each other. The players hope to play at the highest level one day. The club hopes talented Asian players will dream of playing for Liverpool and strive to accomplish that goal. 

"It's all part of the network we have developed in China," Comolli said. "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.

"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 presence of foreign players at academies is a fiercely-debated global issue. Though FIFA laws prohibit a player from playing for a foreign team's first-team before the age of 18, it is common for players to leave their homelands as teenagers and develop in the youth academies of top clubs. 

Comolli believes that Liverpool's best move is to nurture both local and global talent. The global following of the English Premier League makes it an ideal destination for players everywhere. The club will continue to use that status to develop  players regardless of their country of origin. 

"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." He said. 

"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."

Photo courtesy of LiverpoolFC.tv