The transfer window may be closed, but Liverpool could be on the brink of completing the signing of an exciting young talent.
It was back in July that Fabrizio Romano reported that the Reds had agreed a deal to sign Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea’s academy, but with the player having only turned 16 this summer, LFC had to go through a five-stage registration process with the Premier League before the transaction could be finalised.
Speaking on the Blood Red podcast, Paul Gorst outlined that the various bureaucracy can be time-consuming, but he added that no problems have arisen in this instance and the transfer should be completed within the next fortnight.
The Liverpool Echo journalist said: “I asked someone about that last week. He’s going through the Premier League five step registration thing apparently and that takes a little bit of time, but no concerns or issues.
“He will be part of the academy set up in the next two weeks. He will be a Liverpool player and one who academy staff are massively excited about.”
Having only turned 16 in July, Ngumoha will obviously go straight into Liverpool’s academy ranks rather than being expected to challenge for a first-team place.
However, trusted journalists such as James Pearce and Bence Bocsak have both described the teenager as a massive coup for the Reds, and he was named player of the tournament when Chelsea won a national title at under-16 level last year.
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There’s been no shortage of teenage talents who’ve been handed senior opportunities at Anfield in recent times, with Ben Doak, Jayden Danns, Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic and Trey Nyoni among those to have broken into the first-team fold.
There was a cull of numerous youngsters towards the end of the summer transfer window, with many prodigious talents either departing on loan or being sold outright.
If he makes the desired impression at academy level, Ngumoha could get his chance in Arne Slot’s senior side over the next couple of years, although staying there would be an altogether different challenge.
This deal has appeared to be close to happening for weeks without yet going through, but Gorst’s update suggests that it might finally be nearing completion. Once it does, we can’t wait to see what the 16-year-old produces in the underage ranks for Liverpool!
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