In the summer of 2020, Liverpool will move in to their stunning new £50 million training
complex.
Inside the state-of-the-art facility in Kirkby, eight miles from Liverpool city centre, the
attention to detail is typical of Jurgen Klopp, the head coach who has restored the club to
the pinnacle of European football and put them on the brink of a first league title
for 30 years.
Klopp was at the heart of the discussions with London-based architects KSS after the
decision was taken in 2017 to leave their historic Melwood base and his vision for the
future has been backed to the hilt by owners Fenway Sports Group.
“Our long-term approach to investing and growing this club is as important off the
pitch as it is on it,” chairman Tom Werner told The Athletic.
“There has always been an aspiration to build a world-class training facility that
becomes an elite performance centre where young players have a clear pathway to the
first team.
Helped by a relatively mild winter, the work being carried out by contractors McLaughlin
and Harvey is on track, with Klopp’s players set to walk through the doors for the first
time when pre-season training starts in early July.
They will be greeted by artwork celebrating legendary Liverpool figures and a mosaic of
a packed Kop emblazoned with the words ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
The new 9,200 sq m training complex will house both the first-team and the under-23 squads,
with the younger age groups remaining on the other side of the site which was initially
opened in 1998.
The building includes two gyms, a large indoor sports hall, swimming pool, an extensive hydrotherapy
complex, specialist sports rehabilitation and medical suites as well as relaxation and
dining areas.
There are also dedicated TV studios, press conference facilities and an array of offices
with balconies overlooking the pitches.
It has been designed, at Klopp’s request, so the youngsters in the development squad
don’t automatically have access to the designated first-team areas.
The manager wants them to have to earn the right to be allowed into that side of the
building.
That is the next step they have to take through hard graft.
Sporting director Michael Edwards, academy director Alex Inglethorpe and Lijnders also
had a considerable amount of input in the design, along with senior players including
captain Jordan Henderson and vice-captain James Milner.
Liverpool went on a fact-finding mission to a number of European clubs to assess their
facilities, including Red Bull Salzburg’s acclaimed training complex.
The huge first-team gym in Kirkby has been designed so it’s bathed in natural light
with the glass front providing panoramic views of the training pitches, providing a source
of motivation for those on the comeback trail after injury.
Klopp has also ensured that bases for nutrition and sports psychology are embedded in the
middle of the building rather than being on the fringes.
It reflects how highly he regards the importance of those departments and their location in
the new set-up reaffirms that message to his players.
Mona Nemmer has been the club’s head of nutrition since she joined from Bayern Munich
in 2016 and is a popular figure with the players.
Klopp brought sports psychologist Lee Richardson on board last summer and he’s been based
at Melwood for three days a week this season.
The former Watford, Blackburn Rovers and Aberdeen midfielder was recruited from Hull City by
Liverpool’s medical rehabilitation and performance manager Phil Jacobsen.
Klopp has always viewed the amalgamation of the club’s two training bases as key to
his long-term vision.
The six-mile gap between Melwood and Kirkby has been a source of frustration for him since
he took over in October 2015.
The German coach has a strong relationship with academy director Inglethorpe.
However, Klopp wants to be closer to the 170 academy youngsters who are looking to make
the grade and the staff working to help them.
When there’s a gap in his schedule, he wants to be able to take a short walk to watch one
of the youth teams in action.
He also wants those kids to be inspired by the sight of Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and
co working nearby.
Vitor Matos, the elite development coach, is currently the key link between Melwood
and Kirkby.
He is responsible for the movement of players between the sites depending on what numbers
are required for first-team sessions.
Logistically, this will be a great deal easier come July.
“It’s very exciting,” said Inglethorpe, who has had the perfect view of the building
taking shape from his office window.
“The under-23s will be based there and it will be an aspirational vision for all the
young players.
Having the first-team staff so close will be really helpful for us.
It’s been very cleverly thought through and designed.”
Melwood has been home for Liverpool since the 1950s and leaving their iconic base this
summer hasn’t been without controversy.
The land was sold for around £10 million last August to affordable-housing provider
Torus, with planning permission secured to build 160 homes.
That was a disappointment to the local residents and councillors behind the ‘Save Melwood’
campaign, who had wanted the facilities to be kept open for community use.
Instead the bulldozers will move in.
Liverpool’s chief operating officer Andy Hughes insists the club will leave “with
a heavy heart” but says that “all funds from the sale of the Melwood site will be
reinvested back into the first-team squad and the state-of-the-art training centre at
the new Kirkby site”.
Whereas Anfield’s new Main Stand, which was opened in 2016, was financed by a £110
million loan taken out by FSG in America, the money for the training ground has come
from Liverpool’s own credit facility – a sign of much greater financial health.
Financial accounts for last season are due to be published before the end of February
with record revenues expected on the back of the club’s lucrative Champions League
triumph.
Werner has previously pointed to the success of Liverpool’s commercial team under Billy
Hogan as key to being able to improve the club’s infrastructure.
Liverpool are also open to the idea of agreeing a naming rights deal for the new training
complex, similar to the one Manchester United have with insurance company Aon.
However, Anfield officials are keen to stress it would need to be the right partner and
that no agreement is currently close.
Klopp has long since felt constrained by a lack of space at Melwood.
There is a shortage of meeting rooms and offices, while the indoor training facility is small
and dated.
Another attraction for Klopp in moving to Kirkby is how secluded it is.
That should help prevent team information from leaking out.
Currently, fans desperate to catch a glimpse of their heroes use bins, cars or ladders
to look over the walls of Melwood and watch training, although the use of a privacy curtain
around the main pitch has enabled Klopp to keep his matchday plans under wraps to a greater
degree.
Liverpool bought 14 acres of land from Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council for £160,000
in February 2018 in order to boost the size of the academy site in Kirkby to 60 acres.
Construction work started seven months later.
As part of the deal, the club has made a significant investment in improving sports facilities
for the local community by redeveloping the Eddie McArdle football pitches and building
new changing rooms.
Klopp was initially concerned about how exposed the academy is to the elements and in particular
how the wind – something he describes as “the biggest enemy of football” – would
affect his training sessions.
But Liverpool commissioned a study to help solve that problem.
The use of computer simulations helped them to define exactly what work was required to
provide maximum protection from the effects of the wind.
The project has included extensive landscaping on the perimeters of the three pitches and
the planting of dozens of trees to ensure that Klopp’s men aren’t blown off course.
Architects KSS specialise in major sports venues and training facilities.
As well as Anfield’s Main Stand, they previously worked on Stamford Bridge, Twickenham, the
No 1 Court at Wimbledon and Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium.
They have also designed new training complexes for Tottenham and Leicester City among others.
The framework for the new building in Kirkby was constructed using 2,000 pieces of steel
weighing 520 tonnes and involved 144 timber beams being lowered into place.
KSS chairman David Keirle says: “Our designs reflect the identity and ambition of Liverpool
FC.
They provide a clear, aspirational pathway to the first team, whilst retaining the requirement
for each player to earn the right to progress to every level.”
Saying goodbye to Melwood at the end of the season will be laced with emotion.
Bill Shankly transformed the place in the 1960s and Gerard Houllier brought it into
the 21st century with the work he oversaw.
However, Klopp has always been more interested in the future than the past.
Having penned a new contract until 2024, the new training complex will be part of his legacy.
Excelling on the field, Liverpool will have surroundings in keeping with their lofty status
and their sparkling new Kirkby base is a home
fit for the Premier League champions.