Former Liverpool youth captain rejoins club as coach

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Liverpool’s academy and first-team have undergone significant back-room restructuring ahead of the 2025–26 campaign, with a wave of arrivals and departures across the club’s coaching departments.

In July, Giovanni van Bronckhorst joined as Arne Slot’s new assistant coach, replacing John Heitinga who departed for Ajax this summer.

At the same time, Liverpool welcomed back Xavi Valero as head of first-team goalkeeper coaching, succeeding Claudio Taffarel and Fabian Otte in a bid to bolster their goalkeeping department with experience dating back to Rafa Benitez’s era.

The academy structure also saw a shake-up.

Under-21s manager Barry Lewtas, after 12 years at Liverpool, left to join England’s U20 setup, and Rob Page—former Wales boss—stepped up to guide the U21s into Premier League 2 action[

The U18s lost long-serving head coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, whose decade-long tenure included an FA Youth Cup final appearance in 2021; he was replaced by ex-Manchester United academy coach Simon Wiles.

Amid this backdrop of change, Liverpool have quietly brought back one of their own.

Tom Clayton, who captained the U21s in his final season at age 21, rejoined the club this September as assistant coach of the U16s—remarkable considering he’s only 24.

Clayton joined Liverpool’s academy at under-9 level in 2009, rising through the ranks to lift the Lancashire Senior Cup in midfield during his final academy season, playing alongside the likes of Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah.

After failing to break into Jurgen Klopp’s first team, Clayton moved to League Two’s Swindon Town in 2022, enjoying 34 outings before injury curtailed his second season and led to his release in 2024.

Now, Liverpool have offered him a pathway into coaching, where he will work under U16s head coach Lewis Nightingale to nurture the next generation at Kirkby.

It is not clear if Tom Clayton has formally retired from playing, but he is currently still undergoing rehabilitation for his injury.

Whether his coaching role at Liverpool is a permanent appointment or a temporary arrangement has yet to be confirmed.

READ MORE: Ajax defender attracting interest from Liverpool

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