Stefan Borson: Man City are getting ‘£30m’ for player Liverpool just signed for £7m
Liverpool have been forced to pay a fee that could rise to £6.8million for Rio Ngumoha to Chelsea.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson has exclusively told Football Insider that this fee is actually a decent return for the Blues.
Liverpool picked up the 17-year-old winger in the summer of 2024, after he had progressed through Chelsea’s academy.
As a result, a tribunal concluded in February that the Reds would pay £2.8m for Ngumoha, which could rise to £6.8m.
Insert in the HTML BodyStefan Borson: Chelsea got a good fee for Rio Ngumoha
For Chelsea, the loss of Ngumoha has been a pretty hard one to take.
The youngster has proven this season that he is one of the best upcoming players in the Premier League, and even scored the winner against Newcastle for Liverpool in August.
As a result, losing a player of that potential and quality could go on to be a big blow for Chelsea, especially if he continues to develop into a star.
However, while the potential £6.8m fee may feel like a bit of an insult, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson explained why, in context, this was a good outcome.
He said: “These fees are always much lower than you sort of imagine. And you also have the benefit of hindsight of seeing him actually playing in the Premier League and scoring a goal at Newcastle that’s probably already worth in some regards most of that fee.
— Rio Ngumoha (@NgumohaRio) February 21, 2026
“That said, it’s close to the record. It’s not nothing. It’s just that in the context of if you were to compare it to say a Manchester City player sale, let’s say two years older, City are generally bringing in £20m to £40m for those players.
“Maybe not, maybe £40m is an outlier, but let’s say £20m to £30m. And that’s only two, two more years. So obviously in that context, £6.8m feels like nothing.
“But that is just the way those systems work. Those tribunals work for players of that age.
“So in that context, that’s probably a good fee. But then in the context of what he’s probably worth it, it’s probably not a good fee. So that is just the system.”
Can Ngumoha become the Premier League’s next big star?
Despite his little game time in the Premier League this season, the attacker has already made a big impact in the top-flight.
According to Sofascore on 21 February, he has produced a 0.36 xA, is averaging an 86 per cent passing completion rate and has scored with every shot he has taken, albeit that only being one.
On top of this, he has a dribble success rate of 67 per cent and has won 53 per cent of his duels.
| Rio Ngumoha’s Premier League stats this season | |
| xA | 0.36 |
| Passing completion | 86% |
| Shot conversion rate | 100% |
| Dribble success rate | 67% |
| Duels won | 53% |
As a result, if he can develop this further, he could easily be one of Liverpool’s star players in the coming seasons.
However, the task for Arne Slot is to ensure he gets the balance right and does not overwork Ngumoha in the coming campaigns.