15 Sep 2026 09:08:18
Rio linked with Arsenal today. Probably a leaked story from his agents as his new contract hasn't been signed. That's not bad for the kid, Bayern Munich and now Arsenal. He'd be fourth choice at both.
15 Sep 2026 09:23:58
Personally not so fussed if he goes. He's young, raw and has potential but right now we have other priorities instead of keeping a kid happy who is blocked off from his favoured LW position.
I'd like to see him go out on loan in Jan should we sign a RW.
15 Sep 2026 09:32:07
Taurus i'm surprised you are "not that fussed" this kid is 18 and has the potential to be a top player. he's already holding his own for a club like us - who would you bring in to "replace him".
I'd be thoroughly disappointed if he left - very bright future if he keeps his head down
RE Arsenal - wouldn't read much into it.
15 Sep 2026 09:43:07
Id sell him.
15 Sep 2026 09:46:37
Hes simply not that great. Runs himself into problems all the time and never tracks back. I would take a swap with Lewis-Skelly. I know some people are going to lynch me over this but its the hard truth.
15 Sep 2026 09:47:22
I reckon it's Rio Ferdinand that they are linked with.
We all know they like a centre half or twelve.
15 Sep 2026 09:48:24
Youngsters come and go Southern Red.
He has potential but I would not say he is holding his own for us right now. He has not played well and is currently a one trick pony. He fails to make runs in behind and his one weapon is taking a man on but that's it.
He is young and can become better but he is not a starter for us and for LW (which is where he wishes to play), he won't need replacing as we have Barcola, Gakpo and Munoz who are all LWs.
15 Sep 2026 09:59:47
Anyone saying sell him, why? how much do you think you would get for him without that contract signed? Pittance. He signs it and keeps progressing he's a homegrown £100m player down the road. Has more appearances and as many goals as Sterling at the same age.
15 Sep 2026 10:20:54
I certainly wouldn't be selling him. Far from perfect and a little bit frustrating but he has talent, hopefully knows his place in the squad. Tie him down to a new contract ASAP.
15 Sep 2026 10:33:25
Far too early to let such an obvious talent leave. Let's see how AI develops him over the next 2 years.
15 Sep 2026 10:34:25
Rio is not going to Arsenal.
15 Sep 2026 10:35:58
He hasn't progressed in 2 years in my opinion. He has a step over and that's it. He can't cross a ball, his awareness and link up play is poor and his defence is below average. He needs to develop in a number of areas this season and barring injury to Barcola, he won't play on his favoured left side.
Big year for the lad and I genuinely hope he kicks on but I have my doubts.
15 Sep 2026 10:56:38
His current 'contract' to get him to join has guaranteed first team game time. So do you not think that he's going to up that to even more guaranteed game time? He was also linked to BM in the summer and before people say that's just his agent do you really think he was not involved in that decision and discussion.
And now its Arsenal, personally I don't think he cares what club he's at as long as he's a starter, seems like a little mercenary to me at this early stage of his career. Will we really drop Barcola and Gakpo to appease his wants?
15 Sep 2026 11:01:13
It wasn't that long ago people were calling CR9 a one trick pony who played too many step overs.( It kinda was 20 odd years ago )
Now I know there are more flops than there are first team players from the academy but I think this kid is great.
He is young and having to learn a lot of information fast while trying to forget everything Mr Slot had told him.
It feels like he has a definite role in the team and he needs to work on it like every other player.
Up until the beginning of this season he seemed to have a freedom to be creative whereas now he is aware of his responsibilities for the team.
Hopefully he comes good and helps us for many years winning trophies.
15 Sep 2026 11:39:14
Not to have a go at a kid but there's no end product there as yet. Crosses never find a player he doesn't score and he runs into blind alleys. Need to more from him to be honest at present he's no better than say Doak, Ibe or Sinclair.
I hope he does come good but no evidence as yet to show any improvement.
{Ed666's Note - I’d take 60 million for him on January and spend it on a midfielder or right winger.
15 Sep 2026 11:39:28
Mercenary or not, how many players his age are looking this good in the league?
Dont care too much what a players like as long as he's doing it on the pitch, and for an 18 year old under a new manager with kerkez/frimpong behind him, I think he's doing alright so far. Definitely a keeper.
15 Sep 2026 11:56:39
Do what it takes to sign him to a long term deal. Easily 100mil for him at some point.
I would also swap with Skelly who is a great LB/CM option.
15 Sep 2026 12:12:35
That maybe why it's not signed Mcgoveb. Iraola may not want any guarantees to be given, nor should they be. He's got potential but I'm with you on this, I don't see how he gets in ahead of Barcola, maybe Munoz if he settles, also if Gakpo keeps his form up he's in ahead of him as well.
15 Sep 2026 12:28:33
I wonder what Barcola, Munoz and Gakpo were doing at their 18th birthday. Doubt any of them were playing anywhere near the level of competition Rio is trying to find his feet in.
15 Sep 2026 12:47:34
Young players are more entitled and impatient than ever before and loyalty is almost non existent these days.
Rio's family/agent met with Bayern officials allegedly, and had their heads turned, so this link is not surprising.
They want the guaranteed game time and the big contract before they have even proven that they are worthy of it.
Get him signed up, rotate him (he's best as a sub when we are chasing games), and is certainly not (yet) an Andoni style winger since his skill set is limited and he lacks pace.
He must realise than w Barcola and Minteh onboard, he is going to be a distince second choice, although he may turn out to be more effective than Barcola in the end.
15 Sep 2026 14:01:40
£40mill + £1.
15 Sep 2026 14:13:15
Would anyone be majorly surprised if he was named in the England Squad Friday? Lets face it he!s AT LEAST going to be in the u21 squad which at two weeks after your 18th birthday is a fine achievement. We're a strange fanbase with our top kids. We moan about the lack of them and then when we get them we moan even more.
15 Sep 2026 14:38:12
Is Rio now plan B or the next whipping boy? . My god. he just turned 18. 18!!! Sure, there is zero chance he won't improve! He is not progressing like Lamine Yamal so he sucks.
{Ed666's Note - taking big money for a kid that may or may not make it at LFC is not him being a whipping boy. We did it with Sterling
15 Sep 2026 15:03:22
Bags of potential. So did Ibe, Brewster, Sinclair etc. If you're offered £60m+ sell on% You'd have to consider as there is a chance the potential isn't met. He could become a Sterling, once at the level want's out for money or London.
Look where he is now, although he for a few seasons was at the top. I only want to keep players who want to stay and play and are proud to be here.
15 Sep 2026 14:52:43
Already been said, too many step overs and dead ends with no positive end product, carrying on from where he left off last season. Not massively impressed personally from what I've seen.
Hope he's not trying call the shots at this early stage of his career but if he his then get rid in January, tuis is what happens when players take the piss out the club like the 2 Madrid players. Sends a bad signal to the others they can follow suite and hold club to ransom.
15 Sep 2026 15:31:51
If he wants to go, he should go.
I'd hike the price up though.
15 Sep 2026 15:32:18
Rio seems like a good lad who is working hard at his game. He's spoken in two interviews on learning to play on the right. He's working hard on his off the ball game, which will no doubt get better under Iraola.
He's got a really good shot - unlike Sterling had. And he's got lower limb strength to take the constant kicks/fouling from the looks of it.
The only other thing you could point to is working with a pro sprint coach like Phil Foden did to see if he can eek out some more speed from his sprint technique. He's still physically developing so I don't see why he can't squeeze more out of that.
We should be embracing talents like Rio imo. There's nothing to suggest he is lazy, a troublemaker or not a team player. He was brilliant in the second half of the Atleti game once Iraola made the tweaks. And watch him celebrating for Macca's goal last week.
{Ed666's Note - is he a worldie kid like a Mesloub? Or like Yamal was? No..is he an Owen? Rooney? Fowler? No he’s not even as good as sterling was as this age. I have nothing against Rio I honestly think he could be a fantastic player in the future he has the potential but like it or not we’re pretty shit at the moment and we don’t have time to bed in a youngster. If Barcola gets a season ending injury would you trust Cody & Rio to save the day? If we get an obscene transfer fee for Rio I would take it and fix the holes in the rest of the team. We’re already 482 behind city and Arsenal and I’d rather have a stellar midfielder or right back than a 3rd choice left winger with potential.
15 Sep 2026 15:34:38
Whilst I agree there's room for improvement for sure (what 18 year old doesn't) to say he hasn't progressed in 2 years West Derby is crazy imo. In that timeframe he's made debuts in all the major comps, scored his first goals, becomes a regular in the squad, and even made the England squad which is very hard to do at the tender age of 17. Is he the finished article, absolutely not. But in a world where Liam delap is worth 50 mil, savio is worth 85mil. selling Rio for the likes of 60mil is madness in my eyes.
I'd like to see how he develops under Iraola, wouldn't be averse to him going on loan in Jan if he's not getting the minutes but if he keeps getting the minutes like he is now, then absolutely no reason to loan him out.
He literally just turned 18 lads. too many FIFA experts these days expecting every kid to be the finished article on day dot.
15 Sep 2026 15:39:20
Hike the price up to what Ron? By Jan he'll have 18months left on his contract. If he's all step overs and no end product who is going to give us good money for him. They'd wait until the summer like inter did with jones(someone with much more experience)and take him for a song.
15 Sep 2026 15:44:54
What's with all the paranoia and speculation that he might be getting too big for his boots and wants to go to London? Bizarre the takes that are being bandied about here. People saying he doesn't have a well rounded game. well, he's 18 years old. How many top players did have a well rounded game at that age?
At 18 Sadio Mane had barely even broken into the Metz B-team, Salah was still in Egypt, Hazard had his debut season in the first team at Lille, de Bruyne had barely started his career at Genk, Ribery was in the 4th division in France, Bale was in the early stages of his career at Spurs (he wouldn't properly explode on to the scene until he was 21) etc. etc.
15 Sep 2026 16:05:11
None of our 1st 11, or let's say the 1st 13 or 14 were trying to succeed at the level Rio is at his age besides Wirtz. And even he was doing it in a league most on here would say is easier for an attacking player.
15 Sep 2026 15:33:59
Sinclair and Brewster were nowhere near as far on and a part of the 1st team as Rio is at his age. And Ed we took the money for Sterling because we had no choice. it wasn't us wanting rid it was him moving to win trophies.
Which he won a hell of a lot of. Rio is every bit as good as sterling was at his age. We just need a bit of patience. God knows players 5 or 6 years older than him get enough of it.
{Ed666's Note - I disagree mate Raheem was on a different level to Rio at the same age.
15 Sep 2026 16:22:34
Liverpool fc should never be held to ransom by an 18 year old. If they allow Rio and his people to force Liverpool to give a massive contract when he is still learning and his place in the team is not guaranteed then the club is finished in my opinion. And every young talent will be knocking on the managers door asking for big contracts.
15 Sep 2026 16:39:19
I disagree FM. Sterling was incredibly direct. He might not have had the skills of Rio, but he had pace, electric acceleration, and was very good at switching directions (which in my opinion is a far more dribbling style anyway) and would constantly run at defenders with the sole aim of getting in the box.
Right now, Rio needs to learn to be much more direct to have more impact on games. Dribbling for the sake of it hardly works after youth level. Rio does have better ball striking ability, but I think he lacks the outright pace/acceleration of Sterling. He still has a lot of growing up to do in my opinion.
15 Sep 2026 16:49:54
£100M FM, at his age he can't just leave on a Bosman to Arsenal.
Home grown and all that, if they want him, they can pay.
15 Sep 2026 16:55:46
Well koparmy for all his pace and direct running in 12/13 Sterling got 2 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League that season. Lets see how Rio gets on. Interestingly in the same season Bakary Saka turned 18 he got 1 league goal and 5 assists.
It is not easy at that age. So far in his four appearances this year he's been up against Lewis Hall, Ola Aina, Llorente and Castagne. These guys are no fools they are all good experienced players.
15 Sep 2026 16:58:05
Whatever your smoking Ron, I'll have some of it.
15 Sep 2026 16:15:23
Ed666, you have written my post for me. Everything you wrote is spot on. We have no idea how good he will be and he has holes in his game that he may or may not ever fix. We just don't know. A loan would do him and us wonders.
{Ed666's Note - I aim to please..!!!
15 Sep 2026 16:36:40
Sterling turned 18 during the 2012/13 season and there were the same doubts about him as there are about Rio now Ed. He was competing with the likes of Suso, Borini and Assaidi for a place on the wings not the likes of Barcola and Gakpo and hadn't experienced Champions league football. He ended that season with two LFC goals to his name something Rio already matches.
It was the following season and the title charge when Sterling really took off. You ask is he a Messi? ir Lamal, Rooney or Owen? Really?? is that the barometer? They were freaks. If Rio ends up as good or near as good as Sterling we've hit the jackpot. The man won multiple leagues and cups and was a top player.
{Ed666's Note - your missing my point Rio is expendable due to circumstances Raheem wasn’t
15 Sep 2026 17:23:01
He was given a good few chances to impress last year and some don't get that in their early days so hard to compare all past youngsters coming through to him, his game is predictable just like the salah ended up being, just like step over now, he gets pushed down the line doing his fancy tricks then runs out of grass crowded out, maybe its low confidence to come inside and beat his man but he's had plenty chances to impress and just not done it.
It doesn't look like he's got another trick to try and is far to predictable to be effective, just can't see him being anywhere as good as sterling was or what where looking for in that position (unfortunately).
15 Sep 2026 17:35:27
Well the club were willing to leave a team that had just one the league with one senior option in Gakpo and Rio as our LW options last season. They would have known he wasn't ready but rate his talent enough to leave a pathway open for him.
Does the calibre of clubs linked to him not show you how highly this kid is rated. Like I said earlier we are never happy.
15 Sep 2026 18:01:22
I think Rio has huge potential and would obviously not sell him unless Arsenal or someone else offer some crazy money. However, Sterling just had the directness which felt more exciting to me.
I hope AI will teach Rio to be more direct and he can become genuinely world class.
Even against Atletico, in the 2nd half as soon as he started to run at the RB and move the ball in one or two touches he was unplayable, were as when he was dawdling in the first half he was ineffective.
15 Sep 2026 18:52:08
His agent will be looking for offers, I'd sell he's not going to be the superstar that people think, had to much given to him to young.
15 Sep 2026 17:48:01
My view on Rio is well voiced and known here. I'm with ED0666.
15 Sep 2026 18:06:39
We get it FM, you've a Rio fanboy.
I don't think he's shown anything near enough yet. He for sure has bags of potential, but hasn't really shown anything yet to suggest he's going to make it.
I'm not remotely on his case as he is incredibly young, but I don't think anyone really knows how big a mistake it would be to let him go right now.
Gun to my head, he's more likely not to make it than he is to live up close to the hype.
15 Sep 2026 22:12:34
Jesus christ what is going on here?? he's just turned 18 and he's got obvious talent and seems like a nice lad from his interviews. Won us a game already at newcastle last season and people on here saying he can leave and he's a mercenary based on some Internet rumour. This thread is sad.
15 Sep 2026 22:55:10
@Red-Will, as I say from my perspective I'd love him to turn out to be a world class player for us. I"d love to see him develop the talent 5hat he has. Mu point is that he hasn't really progressed his overall game in the last two years. He showed flashes of what he could become but he is still at that stage now.
Like I say, given the arrival of Barcola he is likely to be second fiddle in his best position which makes his task in convincing AI that he is worth a regular start all the more difficult. The positive is that he has th3 talent, what he needs to do is convince AI that he will be the player he could be.
15 Sep 2026 22:59:47
I really don't get the hype about Rio, other than people wanting someone to put their hope into. He's ok, but I don't see anything that suggests he'll be a Liverpool great.
15 Sep 2026 23:05:12
Sell him.
15 Sep 2026 23:11:41
£100m is not his value FM, it's his "price" if anyone wants to sign him.
Like I say, if he contract expires he can't walk on a free to a EPL club so Arsenal would have to pay.
15 Sep 2026 23:57:19
I doubt the PFCC would make Arsenal pay anything remotely resembling £100m Ron.
{Ed666's Note - in this market Rio should be worth at least 40 - 50 million. I’d take that for him. That money bud you Camara or a starting right back.