According to reports, Liverpool is in discussions to repurchase their former Melwood training facility with the goal of using it as the team’s home base
After selling its historic prior facilities a year earlier, Liverpool moved from Melwood to the AXA Training Center in Kirkby in November 2020.
The women’s team, however, does not train at the AXA, thus the club is now thinking about repurchasing Melwood for them.
Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler purchased the property in May 2021 to house their academies in the storied location in the city, guaranteeing that the base will continue to be used for football in the future.
The women’s team, however, does not train at the AXA, thus the club is now thinking about repurchasing Melwood for them.
Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler purchased the property in May 2021 to house their academies in the storied location in the city, guaranteeing that the base will continue to be used for football in the future.
Carragher was the first to break the news that Liverpool had made an effort to “buy back” Melwood in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon.
Later that evening, Liverpool responded to Carragher’s article with a statement:
“LFC is still looking into potential locations for a new training facility for LFC Women. The project team will inform supporters as soon as it is feasible to do so even though it has not yet made a final selection on a preferred site.
Currently, Liverpool Women practice at Tranmere Rovers’ The Campus facility on the Wirral, although manager Matt Beard revealed to This Is Anfield last year that his squad would have their own facility by 2023.
According to Beard’s remarks at the time, a base had already been arranged in anticipation of the squad moving in this coming summer.
The club reportedly made an approach to repurchase Melwood, which may indicate that the original plans had failed.
The merging of the women onto Kirkby was one possibility that had been considered, but Beard indicated why he and the club preferred that the women have their own residence on Merseyside where they can accommodate players from the academy to the first team:
If we moved to Kirkby, you probably could only house the first team, he remarked.
“From our vantage point, we have the youth system and the under-21s. Currently, the youth system is receiving instruction at three distinct locations.
“I think it’s crucial that we get a base, not just for the first team but also for the women’s setup.
Kirkby wouldn’t be able to house the first team, under-18s, or under-21s. Where we can house them all together would be my ideal.
The club found several locations after conducting a search under Susan Black’s direction. Susan Black was hired as the women’s executive director in September 2020.
Melwood, though, appears to be the most likely candidate to become LFC Women’s new home.
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