Report: Liverpool could rival London duo in heavyweight battle to sign ‘standout’ teenage forward | OneFootball

Liverpool could reportely vie with two London heavyweights in the battle to snap up teenage Middlesbrough forward Cruz Ibeh.

The 17-year-old was handed his senior debut for the Teesside club in their FA Cup clash away to Fulham last month and has also been an unused substitute in a couple of Championship games for Kim Hellberg’s in-form outfit.

The Reds have an impressive track record for acquiring teenage talents from other British clubs – having done so with Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Ben Gannon-Doak, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha in recent years – and they appear to have their eyes on yet another precocious gem.

Liverpool among several big-name suitors for Cruz Ibeh

According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool and Manchester City are ‘monitoring developments closely’ in relation to Ibeh, with Arsenal and Chelsea also ‘pushing’ to sign the youngster.

Middlesbrough are understood to be ‘fully aware of the mounting interest’ in the 17-year-old, who signed his first professional contract in November, but Teesside chiefs remain confident that they can convince the starlet to resist the overtures from Premier League giants and continue his development at the Riverside Stadium.

The teenage striker is ‘widely regarded’ behind the scenes as ‘one of the most gifted attacking talents’ that ‘Boro have produced in years.

(Photo by Harriet Massey/Getty Images)

Liverpool have a track record for giving youngsters their big break

Ibeh has been described as a ‘standout’ player in Middlesbrough’s academy with his ‘blend of pace, power and natural finishing ability’ (TEAMtalk), the latter of which was on show when he netted a hat-trick in a 6-1 demolition of Ipswich under-21s in Premier League 2 last month.

Those traits should serve him well as he seeks to cement the transition from underage to first-team football, and it attests to how high his ceiling could be that so many high-end Premier League clubs are striving to sign him.

If Liverpool were to win the race, he’d obviously be a long-term addition who’d go into the under-21 squad initially to further his development before being thrust into Arne Slot’s senior side when the time is deemed appropriate.

The successes of Elliott and Ngumoha in particular illustrate that there is a first-team pathway at Anfield for players who are considered good enough to make that biggest of leaps, and those case studies could encourage Ibeh to choose the Reds over Man City or the London duo.

Jeremy Jacquet is understood to have opted for a move to Merseyside instead of Chelsea for that very reason, so perhaps the Middlesbrough starlet might feel the same. That is, of course, if he decides against staying put and continuing to bloom at his current club.

He could be a name worth keeping an eye on over the next few months as he seeks to further enhance his already glowing reputation.