Liverpool's Next Great Talent: Erik Farkas
Liverpool once built a modern era around Philippe Coutinho. Now they think they’ve quietly tied down the next great Anfield magician.
Coutinho’s shadow still hangs over the club, but not in the way it once did. His exit was bitter at the time, yet history has been kind to both sides. The fee that took him to Barcelona funded Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, the backbone of a Champions League and Premier League-winning team. Barcelona were the only real losers in that deal.
Strip away the noise and you remember what he was: a pure No.10. A player who drifted between the lines, slipped away from markers, and bent games to his will. He glided past defenders, threaded passes through impossible gaps, and saw pictures others simply didn’t. At his best, Coutinho didn’t just create chances. He painted them.
For years Liverpool searched for that profile again. When Florian Wirtz arrived for big money, it felt like the succession plan had finally landed. The German had torn up the Bundesliga, playing with the same swagger, the same eye for the killer ball. This, many thought, was Coutinho’s heir.
So far, it hasn’t clicked.
Wirtz has not yet found his rhythm in English football. Where Coutinho settled quickly and lit up Anfield, Wirtz looks half a beat behind. His touches are a little hesitant, his decisions a fraction late, his confidence not quite in sync with the chaos of the Premier League. The talent is obvious, but the spark that made him unplayable in Germany has yet to truly ignite on Merseyside.
Unlocking him has become one of the great puzzles of Andoni Iraola’s early reign. Solve it, and Liverpool gain a world-class creator. Fail, and it could define the Spaniard’s spell at Anfield.
Liverpool’s Next Coutinho?
While that riddle plays out in the first team, another story is unfolding quietly in the academy.
Inside the club, two names have been ring-fenced as priorities for the future: Joshua Abe and Erik Farkas. Both have drawn serious attention from clubs across England and Europe, the kind of interest that usually makes academy directors nervous.
Liverpool moved decisively.
Abe agreed professional terms in the summer. On Friday, the club confirmed they had also reached an agreement with Farkas on his first pro deal. No fanfare, no drama. Just a crucial piece of business secured.
Farkas is the one turning heads for all the right reasons. Coaches talk about him in familiar tones, using words once reserved for Coutinho. He sees passes others don’t. He slips balls through defensive lines that look locked. His football IQ stands out, his vision feels a step ahead, and his technique backs it all up.
There’s a specific trademark too. Like Coutinho, Farkas has mastered those disguised through balls with the outside of his foot, the kind that bend away from defenders and into a teammate’s stride. It’s the sort of pass that draws a collective gasp from the crowd, even at youth level.
He plays with flair, but not for show. There’s purpose in the tricks, calculation in the improvisation. He looks like a player who enjoys the responsibility of making something happen when the game turns tight and tense.
Liverpool have seen this kind of talent before, and they know what it can become if nurtured properly. This time, they’ve made sure the foundations are secure. Farkas is tied down, his pathway mapped, his future – for now – painted in red.
Wirtz is the big-money puzzle in the spotlight. Farkas is the quiet promise in the background.
If one of them truly steps into Coutinho’s old role, Anfield will feel that familiar buzz again. And if both of them do, what kind of team might Liverpool be building for the next generation?
