Rio Ngumoha will soon sign his first professional contract with Liverpool, days after scoring the winner in the 3-2 win against Newcastle United.
The Reds made difficult work for themselves at St James’ Park despite Anthony Gordon receiving his marching orders at the end of the first half.
Liverpool took a commanding lead courtesy of a long-range strike from Ryan Gravenberch and former Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike, who has now scored in all of his competitive appearances thus far.
However, Ngumoha stole the headlines as he emerged from the bench for his Premier League debut and became the hero for the Reds, scoring the winner ten minutes into stoppage time.
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And on Friday, when he turns 17, he will be eligible to sign his first professional contract and receive a significant pay bump from his standard scholar’s contract.
Rio Ngumoha will sign his first professional contract with Liverpool
According to The Athletic, Ngumoha is expected to put pen to paper on a fresh contract on his 17th birthday.
Clubs in England are not permitted to offer professional deals until a player reaches 17, is no longer in full-time education, and has the written consent of a parent and legal guardian.
Ngumoha is currently earning £1,200 per month under his youth deal, and Liverpool’s payment structure is capped at a basic salary of £52,000 per year; however, contracts include heavily incentivised bonus payments.
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The 16-year-old is viewed as a “generational” talent, and while the club insists they did not break their payment structure to acquire the forward from Chelsea, he is expected to be heavily rewarded for his first-team resurgence.
He etched his name in Premier League history against Newcastle as Ngumoha became the fourth-youngest goalscorer in the top flight, joining legends such as Wayne Rooney.
Ngumoha decided to leave Cobham as Liverpool provided a clear pathway to the first team, and he is now considered a fully-fledged member of Arne Slot’s squad.
Chelsea are demanding compensation from Liverpool for Ngumoha
Chelsea are demanding immediate compensation for Ngumoha, but the Reds have yet to pay a tribunal fee over a year since the player decided to pack his bags for Anfield.
The transfer passed the Premier League’s five-step process, and while this provides little respite for Chelsea, seeing their former academy prospect flourish at a rival has come as a bitter blow.
Widespread reports claim that Chelsea have since banned scouts from Premier League clubs from attending academy matches at Cobham.
Liverpool paid a total fee of £4.3 million to Fulham when they signed Harvey Elliott, and a figure in a similar ballpark is expected to be awarded to Chelsea.