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Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard tasked with finding the stars of tomorrow

Below the hubbub of Mohammed Salah's impending move from Roma to Liverpool, the news of Steven Gerrard announcing his back-up team as manager of the Under-18 academy slipped under the radar.

It contained no-one famous but it was a reminder of Gerrard's continued importance to the club. His years as Liverpool's best player need no regurgitation, other than to emphasise the club's failure to find a successor.

The decision to appoint him at academy level was more than good publicity. It highlighted the need to address another of Liverpool's recruitment shortcomings: Salah's move already shines a light on the Reds' failures in the transfer market over recent years as he could have joined in 2013 for a much lower fee.