Chelsea's Rio Ngumoha battle with Liverpool could be delayed FOR MONTHS

The battle between Liverpool and Chelsea over the compensation to be paid for Rio Ngumoha is set to be delayed for months. The two Premier League giants have failed to come to an agreement following the teenager's move last yearand a tribunal is now not expected until an end of the year.

There had been a belief that the situation could be resolved by the end of September. Now, a tribunal will not sit until the end of November or even December, per the Times.

While Ngumoha signed professional terms with Liverpool after turning 17 in August, he only arrived on Merseyside in September 2024 having come through the ranks at Chelsea.

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The winger, who has now made five senior appearances for Liverpool, was tied to the Blues from the age of eight until choosing not to sign scholarship terms at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are entitled to a compensation payment for their part in his development. After the rivals failed to agree on a fee, the sum the London side are entitled to will be decided by the Professional Football Compensation Committee.

Each club will be represented by a KC with parties able to submit evidence and cross-examine witnesses. A similar tribunal was required when Harvey Elliott moved from Fulham to Liverpool and awarded the west London club a£1.5million fee with up to £2.8m in further payments triggered by Elliott’s achievements.

Ngumoha has already played a crucial role this season by scoring the winning goal in the Premier League clash with Newcastle. The winger netted a late effort after coming off the bench for the Reds.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot believes Ngumoha has the perfect environment to continue his growth. The Dutchman reckons the youngster will benefit from the competition he faces.

"The good thing is if you are a youngster playing at Liverpool, there are players you are playing with who are still better than you are," Slot said on Friday. "That I think helps to stay grounded and to know there are still steps to make.

"If you are playing at maybe a club of a lower level and you are as good as Rio, you maybe belong straight away to the best players of the team and that can lead to maybe a situation where he's not as grounded as he should be.

"But here that's not a problem at all. First of all, because of who he is – he's a player that constantly wants to improve. But if you train and play with other wingers like Cody Gakpo, Mo Salah, Federico Chiesa and all the others, then I think he feels there's still a step to make.

"First of all to get to their level and if he is at their level then it's about being as consistent as these players are. That is the most difficult thing. To become really good is something a lot of players maybe can do, but to become consistently really good is why the top players stand out."

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