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Liverpool are set to transform the Kirkby Academy into a state-of-the-art training complex for both the first team and youth set-ups.

The ambitious £50million project will see the Reds move away from their historic home of Melwood, which has been the club’s training base since the 1950s.

Boss Jurgen Klopp has been the driving force behind the decision to amalgamate the club’s two training facilities and owners Fenway Sports Group have committed the funds to make his dream a reality.

The ECHO understands that Liverpool have reached an agreement with Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council over the scope of work and funding. Heads of terms will be finalised once a public consultation period is completed.

Liverpool intend to purchase 14 acres of land at Simonswood Playing Fields at the rear of the Academy in order to expand the size of the current site in Kirkby to around 60 acres. The plans have been drawn up by London-based architects KSS, who designed Anfield’s new Main Stand.

As part of the scheme Liverpool will upgrade the remaining community football pitches nearby and build new changing facilities and a car park. The surrounding area will also get a facelift with new walking and cycling paths created.

Local residents in Kirkby and Melwood will soon receive letters advising them of the club’s proposals.

A planning application will be submitted to Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council within the next few months and if it gets the green light then the redevelopment of Kirkby will start in early 2018.

Work would be completed by the summer of 2019 with Liverpool’s first-team squad making the switch to Kirkby for pre-season training ahead of the 2019/20 season.

The Reds’ move would be accompanied by the sale of Melwood in West Derby, which is a prime site to help address the shortage of high quality family homes in the area. Everton did the same with Bellefield when they left for their new training facility at Finch Farm in 2007.

The existing Academy buildings at Kirkby are set to remain and be refurbished with the first-team training centre built nearby. The facilities will include a new covered artificial pitch, a pool and hydrotherapy complex, gymnasium and specialist sports rehabilitation suites.

Architects KSS specialise in major sports venues and training facilities. As well as Anfield’s Main Stand, they worked on London’s Olympic Stadium, Stamford Bridge, Twickenham, the No 1 Court at Wimbledon and Tottenham’s new stadium.

Significantly, they also designed Spurs’ 77-acre Bulls Cross training complex in Enfield which opened in 2012 and is home to both their first team and Academy.

Melwood’s detachment from the Academy - they are separated by five miles - has been a source of frustration for Klopp since his appointment as Reds boss in October 2015. He wants everyone - from the under-nines through to the first-team - together at one training complex.

Expanding Melwood simply wasn’t feasible due to a lack of space. Liverpool considered other possible sites but redeveloping Kirkby emerged as the preferred option.