Liverpool fight big guns for Dutch midfield pair as future looks bright

Youth tournaments really are a scout's heaven. Perhaps they aren't for the clubs producing the young talent being scouted, but for the big clubs who have a bit of money, they well and truly are.

The latest of such tournaments was the “Tournoi du Val-de-Marne” in France, where a selection of 4 under-16 national teams play against each other in a group stage tournament. France ended up winning the trophy for the fourth year running, beating Serbia, Holland and Belgium on their way to glory.

However, it wasn't the French national team that impressed the scouts present at the tournament. According to Algemeen Dagblad, two players from the Holland under-16 squad caught the eye of English and French scouts alike.Liverpool were especially keen on two players.

The first is Rodney Kongolo, brother of Feyenoord centre-back Terence, who can play either as a defensive or central midfielder. The Dutch newspaper states that the youngster has been aware for some time that a few big clubs such as Liverpool want him, but he impressed so much that even a couple of French clubs (PSG and Marseille) started expressing a certain interest in the youngster. The fact that Kongolo is fluent in French could help the Ligue 1 clubs.

There have been reports in the press that Kongolo has already signed for Manchester City, but it appears that the youngster is still playing for Feyenoord and according to “insiders” Manchester City are indeed favourites. However, they do state that a deal “is certainly not a foregone conclusion”.

The second player is young Rashaan Fernandes, also a midfielder. AD report that Liverpool and Chelsea have both expressed their interest and hope to lure the youngster away from Feyenoord's youth setup.

Building a European scouting network and bringing in the most talented youngsters is certainly something which will be important for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool long term.