Iain Brunskill recalls the “proper buzz” around the Liverpool Academy.

The boy banging in the goals was just seven years of age but the club's youth coaches knew they had a special talent on their hands.

Eleven years on Trent Alexander-Arnold announced himself to a much wider audience on Tuesday night with his eye-catching contribution to the Reds' 2-1 win over Hoffenheim in the first leg of the Champions League play-off.

Brunskill, who is now the head coach of Jordan Under-23s, was the Academy's assistant technical director when the West Derby youngster first pitched up at Kirkby.

“Trent was only a little boy back then but he had loads of natural ability,” Brunskill told the ECHO.

“He was a striker. He was clever, he was wirey, he was quick and he did some unbelievable things with the ball.

“There was a proper buzz about him even at the age of seven.

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“He was just a good kid. Well mannered and hard working. He always listened to the coaches and wanted to learn.

“That's all down to his mum Dianne. She's a great woman and a strong character.

“Listen to him now and he's so focused and down to earth. His mum has kept him that way.”

Brunskill revealed that a change in Liverpool's recruitment strategy helped them secure the services of Alexander-Arnold, who also spent some time training at Everton.

“You could sign a player at the age of eight to join the Academy,” he said.

“But around that time we were finding it more and more difficult to get them in at that age as other clubs, especially Everton, were starting younger.

“You'd approach a kid at seven and the family would say: 'Well, he's been at Man United for two years.' It wasn't ideal but we had to alter our stance and get involved with them younger.

“I shifted from the community coaching side to recruitment and we called it the pre-Academy. I worked with kids from age of five to eight.

“Steve Heighway used to say if you can coach kids at that age then you can coach anyone because you have to have a certain way about you. The only thing that changes is the size of the shirt.

“We'd go into schools and get them in so there was an affinity with the club so when they were eight we'd already had them for a couple of years.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“My second year in that programme would have been when Trent was coming through. Ben Woodburn was part of the same programme. Now 10 years on Liverpool are getting the benefits of it and it's great to see.”

Alexander-Arnold had caught Liverpool's eye when he was six after the St Matthew's Primary School pupil's name had been pulled out of a hat to attend an Academy summer school.

Many coaches have played a part in his development over the past decade but Brunskill says the most praise must go to scout Ian Barrigan, who is now the club's head of pre-Academy recruitment and player retention.

“Ian had the biggest influence on Trent,” he said.

“Trent played for his Sunday team and he used to give him lifts everywhere.

“There was a group of us – myself, Paul Johnson, Barry Whitbread, Karl Robinson and Mike Garrity among others.

“They were good times. A good group of young coaches who worked well together and got the best out of young players.

“But it was Ian who got Trent in and helped support him. What he did for him can't be under-estimated.

“He would have still been going to Everton at that time. But Dianne always wanted what was best for Trent and Liverpool was certainly best for him.

“The environment suited him. He's a bright kid and he's taken it on.

“Both Ben and Trent have this freedom. They just play, they don't seem worried about anything and it's fantastic to see. This is just the start for them.”

Brunskill admits they are fortunate to be playing for a manager in Jurgen Klopp who is happy to put his faith in youth.

“It's brilliant and it gives everyone hope,” he said.

“The younger players lower down in the Academy system know if they do well they will get a chance.

“The young players thing fits well with Klopp and the way he wants to play because he's fearless: 'Just go and play.'

“Of course there's more to it than that but he likes the energy of young players and it's refreshing. I'm not sure you'd see Pep Guardiola do it, you certainly wouldn't see Jose Mourinho do it.”

Burscough-born Brunskill came through the ranks at Liverpool himself.

The England youth international signed for the Reds at the age of 11, playing in the same representative team as Paul Dalglish, and trained at the Centre of Excellence under Steve Heighway, Hughie McAuley and Dave Shannon.

He turned pro and played in Sammy Lee's reserves for three seasons but didn't make a senior appearance.

After being released, he had spells at Bury and Leek Town before Heighway offered him a route into coaching.

“My first age group was the under-9s which had Jay Spearing and Stephen Darby in it,” he said.

“They ended up going all the way through and winning the FA Youth Cup.”

Brunskill spent 12 years at the Liverpool Academy before leaving to take over as reserve team boss at Blackburn Rovers in 2008. He was promoted to first-team coach by Steve Kean.

A spell as head coach at Floriana in Malta followed before he worked for the FA doing coach education and assisting England Under-18s.

Brunskill was in charge of Bolton's development squad under Neil Lennon but he was lured to Jordan last summer after being given the chance to link up with Stuart Gelling, who he had worked with at Liverpool.

“Stuart had been appointed technical director of Jordan and they needed an Olympic coach,” he added.

“That was 13 months ago and it's been a great experience.

“It's not a rich country, no natural resources so it's not like Dubai or Qatar. That has its benefits because players are not wealthy so there's that hunger there. You try to harness that natural enthusiasm and will to work as football is a way out for them.

“The target is to qualify for the next Olympics in 2020.”

They are on track having progressed from a qualification tournament last month. Now the Asia Under-23s Championship Finals in China await next January.

“I want to get back and coach in the UK again at some stage for sure," Brunskill said.

"But working abroad in international football certainly gives you another set of skills which you can bring back."