Chelsea at war with Liverpool over Rio Ngumoha as Premier League forced to intervene

Chelsea remain embroiled in a financial battle with Liverpool after they lost Rio Ngumoha to the Reds with the Premier League now having to intervene as the youngster continues to blossom - further rubbing salt in the Blues' wounds.

The 16-year-old became the fourth youngest scorer in Premier League history when he netted in the 100th minute to seal a dramatic win for the Merseysiders at Newcastle on Monday. Ngumoha came off the bench late on and finished impressively to land the three points.

Last year the youngster left Chelsea and headed to Anfield in a highly controversial switch with the west Londoners believing they'd lost a generational talent - and Ngumoha is already delivering on that promise.

The Daily Mail reported that a tribunal had been set to settle on a fee but, nearly a year on from the move taking place, a decision is yet to be made by the Premier League. Chelsea though believe that Ngumoha's stellar contribution on Monday night will further their case for compensation.

A precedent was set a number of years when Liverpool paid around £4.3million to Fulham after landing Harvey Elliott, who has gone on to become a first-team star, from their academy in a case that also went to a tribunal.

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Liverpool's successful move for Ngumoha did pass the Premier League’s five-step process, but that served as little solace to those at Chelsea and the bad blood has continued. They were so frustrated that its understood that the Blues banned Liverpool’s youth scouts from attending academy matches.

Ngumoha was named player of the tournament when Chelsea’s Under 16s were crowned national champions in 2023 and that no doubt put him on the radar of several top clubs, with Liverpool now standing to benefit as a result.

Arne Slot is very aware of the quality that his teenager possesses and made it clear he was set for involvement this season. In light of Monday's magic moment the Liverpool boss said: "It's, of course, special for him to score a goal in a moment like this."

Academy prospects moving between some of England's biggest names is not uncommon. Last season the highly-rated striker Chido Obi-Martin turned down the chance to sign his first professional contract with Arsenal and chose to continue his career at Manchester United instead.

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