Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha will receive a massive pay increase when he signs his first professional contract, according to Adam Williams.
The 17-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise for the Reds, scoring a huge last-gasp winner away to Newcastle United last month, and being seen as a special prospect at Anfield.
Speaking to The Boot Room, Head of Football Finance and Governance Content for GRV Media, Williams, discussed the pay increase Ngumoha will receive imminently.
“Rio Ngumoha has a lot going for him in terms of his value besides his obvious talent. He’s young, he’s homegrown, and he’s about to sign his first professional contract,” Williams said.
“Liverpool are said to cap first-year professional salaries at £52,000-a-year, but that will be quite significantly topped up by performance-related bonuses. I’d be stunned if he ends up on anything less than £1m per year, and there will be big step-ups year-on-year, plus provisions for image rights and so on.
“That’s a conservative estimate too. Otherwise, you would simply lose him to a club who are more flexible in terms of what they can offer. So, the headline wages are almost certainly going to be a bit of a red herring. The very fact they have managed to poach him from Chelsea, who pay very high wages themselves, tells you all you need to know on that front.”
Ngumoha an enormous part of Liverpool’s future
Plenty of Liverpool youngsters are built up to be something special, only not to make the grade, but Ngumoha does feel different following his move from Chelsea last year.
At just 17, he already feels like a genuinely good squad option for Arne Slot, affecting matches from the substitutes’ bench, and Ole Futsal owner Alfie Brooks has hailed him as “outstanding” in the past.
If Ngumoha can keep his head down, avoid serious injury and learn from some of the world-class players alongside him at Liverpool, the sky can be the limit.
The English winger’s first professional deal will see a huge pay rise come his way, and it is unlikely to be the last time that happens in his career.
