Steven Gerrard snubbed Michael Owen when naming the best youngster he saw during his time at Liverpool

Steven Gerrard overlooked Michael Owen when discussing the best young player he encountered during his time at Liverpool.

After banging in the goals at youth level, Owen scored on his Liverpool debut against Wimbledon in 1997 and was joined in the first-team by Gerrard, who made his senior debut just over a year later against Blackburn in November 1998.

Having both gone on to represent England and achieve great things in their careers, Owen and Gerrard are two of the most successful academy products in the Merseyside outfit's history.

But despite Owen being the last Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or and scoring 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool, Gerrard named a different local lad as the top youngster to come through the ranks.

In his 2015 autobiography, 'My Story', former captain Gerrard showered praise on former Reds midfielder David Thompson, who he used to watch in action for the reserves side of which Jamie Carragher was part of and labelled "outstanding".

“For a long while, I thought [David] Thompson was the best young player I’d ever seen at Liverpool," Gerrard wrote.

“When we were both still in school, I used to go and watch him play for the reserves. He was outstanding. Thompson was part of Carra’s gang.”

David Thompson came through the ranks alongside Steven Gerrard. Image: Getty

What happened to former Liverpool midfielder David Thompson?

Thompson made his Liverpool debut in 1996 and he went on to play 56 times before moving to Coventry for a fee of £3.5 million.

Selected twice in England squads, the midfielder went on to play for Blackburn, Wigan, Portsmouth and Bolton in the Premier League, amassing 167 appearances.

He retired in 2007 aged 29 after a long battle with a chronic knee issue first sustained when training with England five years earlier.

Reflecting on his injury hell and early retirement, he told ESPN: "When you look back, it's an emotional breakdown -- an oppressive state you don't even realise you're in. I only realise that when I look back.

"I'd say that 10 years of my life went into the abyss after retirement, financially and personally, trying to move on and build a life after playing. I started a new relationship with my partner, who is really good at putting things in perspective, and realised I needed to take accountability for things and get some qualifications that would support my future."

Thompson worked as a sporting director at a club in Gibraltar and worked towards a master's degree in sporting directorship, as well as gaining diplomas in critical thinking.

He has also worked as a pundit for BBC Radio Merseyside and the BBC 5 Live Football Daily podcast.