Liverpool are set to finish outside top four, with Manchester United having two games left to pick up three points and secure third place.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have not met their usual high standards either domestically or in Europe, as the Merseyside club are set to end the season without any silverware.
A lack of reinforcements in the team’s midfield and an injury-riddled season for the likes of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have opened the door for a few young players to feature in the first team.
20-year-old Harvey Elliott has featured 45 times for Liverpool this season, while Curtis Jones has also racked up 22 all-competition appearances.
Aldridge stressed that even though Liverpool are used to Champions League football more than any other club, the Europa League competition does have its benefits, not least for the young players.
“On the flip side, some of the lesser games in the earlier rounds will provide the younger players with important game time”, Aldridge wrote in his Liverpool Echo column.
“Especially if we add more players to the ranks in the summer.
“Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Caoimhin Kelleher, Fabio Carvalho, Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak, I’m sure, would all love to play in those European fixtures.
“I’m not going to hide it, though, we’re used to the Champions League more than any other club.
“We’ve won it six times, twice as many as any other English side.
“We are the most valued team from the Premier League in Europe by far.
“But we’ve absolutely got to go for the Europa League if that’s where we end.”
Liverpool playing in the Europa League would mean the young players are likely to get first-team minutes under their belt in the early stages of the competition.
It was in 2016 when Liverpool last played in the Europa League and they reached the final of the competition which they lost by a 3-1 scoreline to Sevilla.
