Liverpool set to steal Chelsea's BEST talent again | OneFootball

Liverpool have a golden chance to steal Chelsea's best talent once again.

The Londoners have a bit of a habit, don't they? Chelsea simply love letting their best talents escape their grasp and become superstars at Anfield.

Think Daniel Sturridge, Mo Salah and more recently Rio Ngumoha. They had all been billed as exciting prospects at the Blues but shot to the limelight on Merseyside.

Sturridge was the first. He became one of the best forwards in the Premier League in an era when Jose Mourinho was struggling to find the best forward options at Stamford Bridge.

Ironically, when Eden Hazard left Chelsea, Salah would have been his best replacement but he was already at Liverpool by then.

And now Ngumoha is regarded as one of the best prospects in England, not at Chelsea where he had trained with the first-team as a 15-year-old but at the Reds.

This is a pattern that simply works and Liverpool now have another opportunity to take an exciting prospect from Chelsea and repeat the successful formula.

Let us introduce you to Shim Mheuka. He's only 17-years-old but he's already playing for Chelsea's U21 side and has 11 goal contributions in eight matches at academy level so far for the Blues.

A very prolific forward, Mheuka has also netted five goals in three games for England's U19 side during the September international break.

He's probably the best talent at Chelsea's academy right now. But he's also another exciting young talent who has a problem.

At Chelsea, his pathway is blocked by Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Marc Guiu all ahead of him in the pecking order. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Emegha, another striker, has already agreed to join Chelsea from Strasbourg in 2026.

So, it's fair to say, Mheuka doesn't necessarily have an easy route into the first-team at the club, which is something Ngumoha, Sturridge and Salah all experienced.

It gives Liverpool a golden opportunity to try and poach the young forward, who will have just one year left on his contract come next summer, and convince him of a much better pathway at Anfield.

Liverpool currently have just Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike as no.9 options giving Mheuka the opportunity to become the club's third choice immediately.

Given the list of success stories of players who have made the switch and worked out at Anfield, or even elsewhere - Dominic Solanke for example who left Chelsea to join Liverpool and ultimately became an elite forward in the Premier League - the lure of the Reds should be a tempting one for Mheuka.

Which is why Richard Hughes should be considering a move for the Chelsea starlet.