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DUNDEE UNITED WANT TO SIGN LUCA STEPHENSON ON A PERMANENT DEAL AS LIVERPOOL ACADEMY PRAISED 13:30, 03 Jun 2025 It wasn't the most straightforward of campaigns for those involved with

the Liverpool Academy. With the under-21s falling at the first hurdle in the Premier League 2 play-offs, the U18s flailing towards the foot of their league before the departure of long-time

coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and a number of loan players struggling to make a mark elsewhere, the success of the first team wasn't regularly replicated on the pitch further down the

age groups. There were, though, some encouraging individual experiences. And one such example is 21-year-old midfielder Luca Stephenson, whose season-long loan with Scottish Premiership side

Dundee United saw him become a regular in the senior side and named the club's Young Player of the Year. The Tangerines are now keen on a permanent deal for Stephenson, although no

talks have thus far taken place with the Reds. READ MORE: Florian Wirtz transfer latest as Liverpool meeting with Rayan Cherki explainedREAD MORE: Federico Chiesa makes Liverpool transfer

exit admission - 'something to think about' And Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin said: “I had a really good conversation in depth with Luca prior to him leaving. “He was outstanding

for us and deservedly won our Young Player of the Year award. We missed him towards the end of the season when he was unavailable. “I’d love to bring Luca back, but he’s under contract at

Liverpool, so we’ll just need to wait and see what happens with that." Article continues below Goodwin was manager at Aberdeen when the Dons signed Leighton Clarkson on an initial loan

before the midfielder made a permanent switch two years ago. He started Aberdeen's Scottish Cup final triumph over Celtic last month. And that close working relationship with Liverpool

means Dundee United could look to take another Reds youngster on a temporary basis for the next campaign as Goodwin extolled the virtues of the Kirkby Academy. "I speak to their loans

manager, Matt Newberry, who I’ve got a good relationship with," he said. "He was really good to deal with again with regards to bringing Luca up. Article continues below “They’ve

got a fantastic academy down there, as you’d imagine, so we’ll try and tap into that again in the summer. I’ve already identified a couple of really good ones, but it’s just whether we can

get them to Scotland or not. “It’s a relationship that we’ll continue to try and work on. They’re a great club to deal with. “Luca’s going back down the road speaking positively about his

time at Dundee United. I think that’s the most important thing when these loans come up. That can only stand us in good stead for the summer, when we have to go and try and do something

similar.”