Revenge may be on the cards for Chelsea after Liverpool poached Rio Ngumoha from the academy last season.
The Blues have tended to have an edge over their Merseyside rivals in the transfer market in recent seasons.
That double summer swoop for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia springs to mind. But it was a rare win for the Reds when they plucked one of England’s brightest young talents right from under Chelsea’s nose.
Chelsea took Liverpool to court over Ngumoha for further compensation, but aren’t satisfied just yet. A plan is in place to repay the favour in the coming months.
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Chelsea eyeing three Liverpool academy stars in revenge for Rio Ngumoha
Chelsea are used to coming out on top when it comes to transfer business, but losing a talent like Ngumoha for free was a big mistake.
In an effort to reconcile the error, three young stars currently in the Liverpool academy are being watched closely.
That’s according to Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail, who claims: “The Chelsea thing is interesting, because Liverpool poached Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea 18 months ago.
“Chelsea are furious, they banned Liverpool scouts from Cobham and someone said to me that Chelsea are ready to throw a missile into the Liverpool academy to get one back.
“Josh Abe is top of the list, and there’s another lad who made his UEFA youth league debut last week who they are sniffing around as well. There are three players on Chelsea’s list in the academy.”
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Chelsea are focusing on youth in January, and it could be that one or multiple of the standout young Reds end up at Stamford Bridge.
But there’s a chance they encounter the same issue that led Ngumoha to leave.
As Steele explains: “Liverpool know Chelsea can pay £20k-a-week, but Liverpool have a wage structure, they’re kept level-headed. Chelsea want revenge and Liverpool are trying to say to these kids, ‘Who’s broken into that team in the last five years?’”
It’s a fair point. So much young talent comes through either from the academy or from overseas scouting, and breaking in past all that talent as a teenager is easier said than done.
Chelsea could get their Liverpool revenge a different way
Despite winning the Premier League with little fuss last season, Liverpool are in a transition period.
The old Klopp side is making way for a new Slot iteration, which could yet see more senior players edging towards the door.
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Someone like Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo or Ibrahima Konate might be open to a move, all of whom would be welcome additions to Enzo Maresca’s side.
If they are going down the academy route, though, it will need to be a player with superstar potential. Otherwise, there’s a risk of wasting time and effort on a player who won’t get near the first team.
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