RIO NGUMOHA signed the first professional contract that almost quadruples his salary.
The Liverpool whizzkid, 17, now has a three–year deal worth around £52,000-a-year.
The length of the deal is the maximum under FA rules that he could be handed at his age.
The Prem champs also have a wage limit for players of 17.
Ngumoha was still on £14,400 a year when he produced a stunning strike to earn Arne Slot’s side a 3–2 win at Newcastle last month.
That not only made him an Anfield rising star but also the Reds’ youngest scorer in history at the age of 16 years and 361 days.
He wasn’t allowed to sign a full pro deal then but following his birthday on August 29, Liverpool acted to tie down his immediate future – after signing him from Chelsea last September.
The England under-19 was fast-tracked into Slot’s squad after a series of stunning performances during this summer’s pre–season tour.
He made his first appearance in the Champions League on September 17 during the 3–2 win over Atletico Madrid.
He then registered his first start in this week’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Southampton.
The Newham-born winger can now bank the first big pay cheque of his career.
But his capture is still the matter of a bitter compensation battle mounted by Chelsea, who signed him as an eight-year-old.
Blues legend John Terry admitted that he was gutted to see the “ambitious” youngster leave for Anfield.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, Terry said: “He is a very ambitious boy who wanted to play first-team football and believed that was his pathway into Liverpool’s first team.
“I’m still in contact with him, but he’s just a fantastic player.
“We had a really good under-14 team and he was a big part of that.
“You don’t see too many players that are exciting like him anymore.
“There’s going to be many more over the years that as an academy you lose, but there’s always one that you think, ‘I’m a bit gutted we missed out on that one’.”
“He was a very confident player, taking the ball on the back foot, lots of personality, very confident in himself.”
“Since the likes of [Eden] Hazard and Joe Cole and those types of players that are very confident and get the fans off their seat as well… I think football’s become a little bit stale and a little bit kind of tactical over the last four or five years.
“But he showed that ability in the academy and unfortunately we’ve lost him.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on the boy, and I wish him well because he’s a great player.
“He’s also a great little kid as well, someone who wants to learn and wants to get better.”
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