Liverpool are closing in on Celtic prodigy Dara Jikieme as they look to repeat their Ben Doak success with another teenage Scottish star
Liverpool are looking to get ahead of the curve and sign 15-year-old future star Dara Jikieme from Celtic amid competition from Premier League rivals. Jikieme has not yet played a match for Celtic’s first team, but his ability to perform beyond his age level in the Under-18s squad is what appears to have impressed Liverpool.
According to a host of sources, via The Mail, everything is heading in the right direction for Liverpool to snap up the wonderkid. Nottingham Forest are also said to hold an interest, so Arne Slot’s side will hope to move swiftly to avoid missing out.
If Liverpool do sign Jikieme, who turns 16 in January, he will join the club’s academy next year. Crucially, the Reds won’t be walking into the deal blindly, as the club have a history of signing young players from Celtic.
Liverpool urged to make ‘perfect’ January transfer – regardless of Mohamed Salah outcomeInside Harvey Elliott’s Aston Villa nightmare – and the Liverpool clause leaving him trapped
The club made a sweet profit on Scottish international Ben Gannon-Doak. The now-20-year-old signed for Liverpool in 2022 when he was just 16. Celtic received a £600,000 compensation fee due to Doak not having signed a professional deal with the Scottish giants.
Doak had reportedly turned down better terms with fellow Premier League club Leeds United to join a Jürgen Klopp-led Liverpool side.
The Scotsman only made a handful of appearances for Liverpool before he was loaned out to Middlesbrough. It was at the Riverside Stadium where Doak showed his skills, and where he proved Liverpool’s £600k signing a worthwhile deal – especially considering how much they would later profit from his sale.
The season after his stint with Boro, Liverpool sold Doak to Bournemouth in a deal worth £20m plus £5m in potential add-ons. It was a great piece of business from Liverpool, but it’s Doak’s rise to Premier League level that the Reds will be hoping to replicate with Jikieme.
The Scottish international was reportedly left out of national youth duty in preparation for his move to Liverpool, with terms supposedly agreed between the two parties.
Jikieme has already shown maturity and leadership even at such a young age, having captained Scotland’s Under-15s side. As with Doak, Celtic would receive training compensation if the youngster leaves, having come through their academy.
Ideally, the Scottish giants would like to sign these wonderkids professionally, let them build some credit in the Scottish Premiership, and then sell them for a higher fee.
However, a chance to work your way up through Liverpool’s prestigious academy to become a club legend – as Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Ian Callaghan and many others did – is likely hard to resist.
For the latest news and breaking news, visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/liverpool-fc. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on Twitter @LivEchoLFC – the official Liverpool ECHO LFC Twitter account – for all the latest LFC news as it happens in real time.
We’re also on Facebook/LiverpoolEchoLFC – your must-see LFC news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.
Listen to our podcasts by searching for ‘Blood Red’ wherever you get your podcasts.
Sign up for one of the Liverpool Echo’s free daily and weekly newsletters on Liverpool FC by clicking here.
