Liverpool have reportedly signed 15-year-old defensive prodigy Emeka Obi from Bury, beating Stoke en route to the capture of towering defender.
The Daily Mail have claimed that Liverpool have secured the signature of 15-year-old defender Emeka Obi from Bury. The Reds have stolen a march on fellow Premier League outfit Stoke City, who were also keen on the teenager, with Obi agreeing to join the red half of Merseyside.
The move is almost done with the clubs waiting to get an approval from the Football League and Premier League as regards Obi’s visa due to his Nigerian heritage.
The Bury Times had broken the story earlier in the day and now Daily Mail have also reported the same thing. As per the Bury times report, Liverpool could face problems with the player’s visa, which could force the club to loan the player out to other places in a bid to make him eligible for playing in the Premier League.
Emeka Obi is a 15-year-old who made his first-team debut for Bury in a 4-1 victory over Morecambe, becoming the youngest player to make his debut for the club in its entire history.
Liverpool have reportedly agreed a huge six-figure compensation in order to land the player from Bury, including bonuses, add-ons and a potential future sell-on percentage.
Bury manager David Flitcroft on Emeka Obi: “I think he’s the best talent right now at 15 years old in the entire country.” pic.twitter.com/qKaV06qXzy
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) October 27, 2016
The player, who stands tall at 6ft 5inches, has been labelled by the Bury manager David Flitcroft as the best 15-year-old in the country at the moment and Liverpool would be delighted to have secured a transfer for the teenager. Stoke were very keen on the player with Obi even having a trial with the Potters but the Reds seem to have stolen a march on their top-flight counterparts.
A player with such a great height is often associated with being technically inept or not as strong as others. But according to Flitcroft, the player, who he describes as a ‘Mountain Man’, is also great with the ball at his feet and the Bury manager would be disappointed to be losing one of its potential future superstars.
The player has himself confirmed the move, adding Liverpool FC to his twitter handle bio and his signing is set to excite and intrigue a host of Liverpool fans.
It would be enticing to follow the development of Emeka Obi at Liverpool as the Reds’ faithfuls would be hoping the player is able to fulfil his potential at the club and follow in the footsteps of other Liverpool academy graduates into the first-team setup.