FA urged to intervene after Rio Ngumoha update at Liverpool
Liverpool recently confirmed some big news around young star Rio Ngumoha but the Football Association (FA) has been urged to step in.
Last week (25 September), Ngumoha penned a new three-year deal at Anfield, which is his first-ever professional contract.
The 17-year-old burst onto the scene this season, scoring a dramatic late-winner in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory over Newcastle United.
Ngumoha is yet to start a game in the Premier League for Arne Slot’s side, but is regarded as many as one of the most exciting talents in the division.
FA should be helping Rio Ngumoha out
Ngumoha’s new contract at Liverpool reportedly sees him earn £52,000 per year, almost quadruple the £14k per year he was earning before.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the winger needs some guidance to deal with such a huge pay rise.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the FA should be stepping in, and ensuring that younger players are managing their money correctly.
Wyness added that agents and greedy parents can often “blow the cash”.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “He’s gone from about £14k, which is the scholarship wage, up to £52k per year, which is a huge amount of money for a kid of that age.
“It brings up a bigger debate about young players with their money. Now, I’ve been part of that debate, and as a club, we couldn’t say we’re going to put 75 per cent of that into a trust fund and have it managed professionally for you, because if anything went wrong with that trust fund, the club would be liable.
“But the FA could be stepping into something like that and helping players manage their money much better, rather than having agents blowing it. In some cases, I’ve got to say, there have been greedy parents who’ve actually blown the cash as much as anybody else.
“But certainly, agents as well, they’ve got to get professional advice on this. And I think perhaps there could be a ruling that up to the age of 21, a certain percentage of any wages for players should be put into some sort of fund. But that’s a bigger issue.”
Liverpool working on next contract extension after Ngumoha deal
Meanwhile, Liverpool are still keen to tie Ibrahima Konate down to a new deal, despite his recent poor form.
Konate has come in for some criticism over recent weeks for his performances, with Slot’s side going through a difficult spell.
The centre-back’s current contract runs out at the end of the season, and he has been heavily linked with Real Madrid.
Talks between the Reds and Konate have been ongoing for a number of months now, with Liverpool working hard to get a deal over the line.
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