Liverpool completes the signing of Chelsea‘s highly talented forward Rio Ngumoha. The 16 year old decided to switch from West London to the Merseyside. Liverpool announced the signing of Rio on Wednesday evening as the player posted with a number 11 jersey at the Anfield on his socials.
It almost took 2-3 months for the deal to be finalized. As the Premier League had to conduct a mandatory five-step verification process for the move. It is required when a youth player wishes to move between two academy’s in the league.
Rio had already decided to leave Chelsea in July. Liverpool was his choice of destination. Compensations between the clubs is yet to be decided to cover the training and development costs. To decide the final amount it is very likely to need a agreement paper. However, as per reports the player can be worth up to £60m.
The 16 year old forward will start off under Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who is Liverpool’s current under-18s manager. The Reds appreciates the decision of Rio to join them given his talent and potential.
Liverpool continued their strategy of signing upcoming talented players for their academy. As they can be promoted to be the future first team players. Along with Rio the Reds also recruited Alvin Ayman from the Wolves this summer.
In the previous years Liverpool have signed many u-20 players for their project. The list includes players like Ben Doak from Celtic, Stefan Bajcetic from from Celta Vigo, Bobby Clark from New Castle United etc.
Why Rio chose Liverpool over Chelsea
Rio is arriving at the Anfield after playing nine matches for the Chelsea u-18s last season. He was also named the player of the tournament in the national championship, which was won by Chelsea last October. The management gave him a reward in the form of a debut for the u-21s. He has also trained with the Blues first team last season.
Rio has scored two goals and registered three assists for the Three Lions u-16 side. He has only played 537 minutes of football.
However, the teenager does not see his future in Chelsea’s star stacked first team-squad in the upcoming years. Chelsea already have more than 30 players in their first team but it includes a very low number of academy players.
So, to seek for a better future Rio has penned a normal scholar’s contract at Liverpool. The opportunity for young players to progress at Anfield played a crucial role for his decision. Their management has given a lot of opportunities to academy players like Conor Bradley, Jarrel Quansah and others in the first team.
On the Daily Red Podcast by Anfield Index, host Dave Hendrick discussed about Liverpool’s youth signings. He said, “We’re targeting the best available young players from up and down the UK.” He went on to suggest that if one these young players breaks into the first team squad it would save them millions in the transfer market.
If the players fail to live up to their potentials then it wouldn’t cause them many problems. As most of the youth players are bought for a cheap price, selling them for a lower price cannot cause them any financial trouble.
Chelsea legend wishes luck to Rio ahead of his future
Where Chelsea is not very pleased to loose such a gem of a talent, one of the biggest Chelsea legend is happy for the 16 year old. Former Chelsea captain John Terry wished good luck to Rio after his departure from the Blues academy.
Terry returned to the Cobham academy last summer after a brief spell as an assistant manager at Leicester City. He has managed Rio last season and thinks of him very highly.
Terry commented on Rio’s Instagram post, replying “Good luck mate” along with a fist bump and blue heart emoji. He also made a bold prediction about the Englishman’s future. On Fabrizio Romano’s confirmation post for the transfer of Rio, Terry commented, ” This boy is and will be a top player” tagging both Romano and Rio.
The 16 year old will be very pleased to see such a Legend backing up his talent and it would push him even further to achieve his goals. Liverpool will be extremely cautious with Rio to ensure his progression throughout the season. As they consider him as a great talent.
Liverpool u-18s will be facing the Blackburn Rovers at home on 14th of September. Rio will be available to make his debut for the club.
A trusted source on WalkOn.comA trusted source on ChelseaNews.com
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