Sunderland assistant academy boss Kevin Ball is confident that the club will be capable of attracting the world's best young talent in the future.
He told the Sunday Sun: "We are trying to recruit the best talent from our area and do the best we can with them.
"But in time will we extend our arm out into Europe? I would like to think that we will do.
Sunderland beat Liverpool 5-3 after extra-time on Wednesday night, with all five goals coming from local lads.
Martyn Waghorn - who has already had a taste of first-team action - scored twice while Joe Cornforth, Jordan Cook and Ryan Noble scored one apiece.
Ball said: "Liverpool had a mix. They had some foreign players but they also had a lot of local lads in their squad.
"But if you look at our squad, our players are drawn purely from this area - with the exceptions of Conor Hourihane and Niall McArdle, who have come over from Ireland.
"That's something we should always do - we should always give our local players the best chance possible and the best opportunity to come through the academy system.
"That's the ultimate aim of the academy and Ged [McNamee, the academy manager] and I both feel the same about that.
"By the same token, at times you may need to go elsewhere and look at foreign players - although not if they are no better than those you have on your own doorstep."