Liverpool have been pushing to get more out of their academy over recent seasons.

The youth teams for the Reds have often felt criminally underused in the not too distant past, but that has been starting to change.

Last season, under Jurgen Klopp, the academy felt to have had a real breakthrough campaign.

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Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah really emerged as regulars in the first-team squad, while the likes of Jayden Danns showed that they could potentially do the same in the future.

As well as those home-grown talents, though, Liverpool have also become incredibly astute at bringing the best youngsters in the country to the club from elsewhere.

And there’s now been another top example of that strategy.

Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

On Wednesday, Liverpool finally completed the signing of Chelsea prospect Rio Ngumoha.

Staff are said to be hugely excited by Ngumoha who comes with the reputation as being one of the best youth team players in the country.

There have been suggestions that Chelsea are furious about losing Ngumoha and there’s a not-so quiet expectation that the 16-year-old could go on to be a first-team star at Liverpool.

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However, according to the Liverpool ECHO, while that may be the long-term plan, it is very much not going to happen immediately.

READ MORE: £2m youngster takes to Instagram to confirm he’s joined Liverpool’s academy along with Rio Ngumoha

They claim that Ngumoha is initially expected to be slotted into the U18s upon his arrival.

From there, the forward will reportedly be assessed for a potential call-up to the U21s depending on how the season goes.

It is added that Liverpool scouts have been ‘hugely impressed’ by what they’ve seen from Ngumoha, so perhaps he may not have to wait long before a rise through the ranks.

There’s no denying that this seems to have been a real coup from Liverpool.

Ngumoha looks set for a bright career.

The ECHO also reassert the claim that Chelsea are ‘furious’ about losing one of their top talents.

That says a lot.

However, the Liverpool based paper also say that suggestions Ngumoha chose to move to Merseyside because of the finances on offer have been ‘rubbished’.

Instead, Ngumoha will reportedly be subjected to the strict policies Liverpool set out for academy players in terms of wages, and will initially be on a scholarship deal.

So, instead of being based on money, it’s claimed that Ngumoha chose Liverpool after being ‘enticed’ by the club’s pitch to him and appears more to be based on the potential pathway to the first-team.
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