Liverpool announced on its official website on Sunday that the club has officially appointed former Wales national team manager Rob Page as its U21s head coach.

According to Liverpool's official statement, as the U21s headcoach, Page will not only be responsible for coaching the club's U21s matches, but will also be responsible for promoting younger youth players to the U21s team and regularly recommending some young players who deserve to be promoted to the first team to first team head coach Arne Slot.

In addition, the club's former player Jay Spearing will continue to serve as a player and assistant coach of the U21s team to assist Page.

After the news of Page's appointment was confirmed, Liverpool's Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe said through the club's official website: "Rob has a wealth of playing and coaching experience and will play a key role in the process of young players seeking to advance from youth players to first-team players."

"He recently led Wales to the last 16 of the 2020 European Championship and eventually qualified for the 2022 World Cup. These achievements speak for themselves. But perhaps less well-known is the work he did during his time as coach of the national team to enable many youth players to successfully advance to the national team."

"At Liverpool, we have seen this firsthand, under Rob's guidance , several players from our Academy have made significant progress in international competitions.

"This experience will be a valuable resource for all members of the Academy, especially the players, in helping young players transition into professional players and ultimately compete at the highest level at home and abroad."

"I and all the staff are very much looking forward to working with Rob, and we will be committed to continuing to develop players who can play at the highest level and in the most demanding arenas."

It is worth mentioning that Page will replace experienced English coach Mark Bridge Wilkinson, who was appointed as Huddersfield Town head coach last month, as the new head coach of the Premier League champions' U21s team.

About Rob Page

Page, 50, was born on September 3, 1974 in Llwynypia, Wales. He is 1.83 meters tall and played as a center back during his playing career. He has played for Watford, Sheffield United, Cardiff City, Coventry City, Huddersfield Town and Chesterfield. He has won the English Second Division once and reached the English First Division promotion play-offs once.

After retiring in the summer of 2011, Page was appointed as the coach of the youth academy ay Port Vale, and was promoted as the first-team manager in 2013, during which he helped the club successfully avoid relegation.

In May 2016, Page was appointed as the manager of Northampton Town, but was sacked in January of the following year after losing to non-league club Stourbridge in the English League Cup.

For a period of time thereafter, Page served as the first team coach of Nottingham Forest, and was later appointed as the head coach of the Wales U21s national team in March 2017.

In August 2019, Page was promoted to assistant coach of the Wales national team. In November of the following year, he began to serve as the head coach of the Wales national team as former head coach, former Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, was accused of sexually assaulting women.

As the head coach of Wales, Page helped The Dragons reach the round of 16s in the 2020 European Championships and qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but was subsequently sacked in June last year due to poor performances in the UEFA Nations League.