Liverpool academy chief Alex Inglethorpe stands by their youth wage cap.

Inglethorpe believes Liverpool are benefiting from a strategy which rewards success rather than failure.

“For me, it's been a really good thing for the Academy," he told the Liverpool Echo.

“Of course I'd say that because I championed it but I think you want the boys to take the appropriate steps.

“It should be the case in life that the harder you work, the more you achieve, the more you get paid for it. That tends to be life and I don't think football should be any different.

“We incentivise the contracts and if someone goes beyond that first contract quickly then we would recognise that.

“I am certainly not embarrassed about offering a professional contract worth £40,000 to a first year pro.

“It might be significantly less than other clubs in our bracket but I don't think the man in the street is going to be crying into his hankie saying: 'What a bad wage that is for a 17-year-old kid'."

The policy is designed to ensure youngsters retain their hunger. Most agents and families have embraced the changes in the knowledge that it's all about the long-term. But some have inevitably been lured elsewhere by the promise of instant riches.

“Has it cost us players? It depends how you measure the word cost," Inglethorpe added.

“If they are going to another club because of money at 17 years of age then they are probably not the ones we wanted in the first place. I'm happy with where we're at. You get the ones you want."