Ngumoha, colts, thoroughbreds and pathways
Liverpool have got themselves a gem of a player in Rio Ngumoha and a diamond of a deal. More than a year after the teenage winger’s exciting debut for Liverpool, a tribunal ruled that the club should pay £2.8m at least to Chelsea for the eight years they spent nurturing him. Far be it for anyone to have too much sympathy for Chelsea, who take kids from other academies, stockpile wingers and trade players, but £2.8m for a player of Ngumoha’s talent is patently too little, even with an additional £4m in bonuses for appearances and the very likely full England honours.
We’re not talking potential here. At 17, Ngumoha is already a huge talent worth tens of millions of pounds, not £6.8m. The add-ons should have been far higher for a player who everyone agrees is destined for the top. Nobody can predict with total confidence whether a colt will train on to become a thoroughbred, and Ngumoha’s game inevitably needs finessing, but his skill-set and mindset already signal a star in the making.
Liverpool have done nothing wrong. They should be applauded for their judgement and skilled movement. But the level of compensation decided by the Professional Football Compensation Committee yesterday seems very wrong. (And let’s not get started on low levels of compensation to EFL academies. Chelsea themselves have plundered a few of those in their time. Youth development should be valued better.)
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When two clubs cannot agree on compensation, and Chelsea are understandably furious at losing Ngumoha, “training compensation” is set by the level of “specialist coaching, education, welfare” which were clearly considerable. Chelsea’s academy is well-known for player development.
“Substantiated interest shown in the player by other clubs,” is another assessment point. Well, every elite club was interested in Ngumoha. He was already so sought after at eight years of age that Liverpool were interested in him then. He chose Chelsea and their academy, then run by the brilliant Neil Bath, and developed impressively.
He starred as Chelsea won the Under-17 Premier League Cup but hadn’t agreed new terms and there was always talk over whether his pathway to the first team would be blocked. Chelsea’s frustration is understandable. They knew what a gem they had. Mauricio Pochettino had him training with the first team. Senior players at Cobham saw it. Raheem Sterling gave him tactical advice. Former players enthused. “This boy is and will be a top, top player,” John Terry posted on social media. Academy coaches at Cobham worked hard on Ngumoha’s development.