Liverpool Signs Scotland Under-16 Captain Dara Jikiemi

Liverpool have pulled off another raid on Celtic’s talent line, securing the signature of Scotland Under-16 captain Dara Jikiemi in a move the club believe could define a generation at Kirkby.

The highly rated teenager has rejected the chance to stay at Celtic, opting instead for Anfield and a development plan Liverpool view as a long-term masterstroke rather than a routine academy signing.

A deal built for the long haul

The agreement is layered. Jikiemi will arrive on Merseyside this summer on a scholarship, with his first professional contract already lined up for when he turns 17 in January. Behind that, Liverpool have gone even further.

An understanding is in place for a new, long-term professional deal to be signed when he turns 18 in January 2028. That is not normal housekeeping. That is a club nailing its colours to a 16-year-old’s mast and daring the future to prove them right.

Inside the academy, staff are convinced they have landed a player who can grow into a first-team footballer, not just another name on the youth-team conveyor belt. His pathway has been mapped out years in advance, a level of planning reserved only for the very top prospects.

Celtic’s loss, Liverpool’s conviction

Celtic did not want to lose him. Jikiemi had offers on the table to remain in Glasgow, where he had already emerged as one of the standout performers in their youth ranks. For a club that prides itself on developing and promoting its own, watching another gem head to Anfield will sting.

Yet the player has made a clear call on his future. He believes his development will be better served inside Liverpool’s system, under a structure that has already helped turn raw teenagers into Champions League regulars.

Within the game, Jikiemi is spoken about in rare terms. A “generational talent” is a label that often gets thrown around too easily, but those closest to his progress point to a blend of leadership and technical quality that sets him apart in his age group. As captain of Scotland’s Under-16s, he is already used to carrying responsibility, not hiding from it.

Following a familiar path

His decision continues a pattern that will not go unnoticed in Glasgow. Jikiemi is the latest in a line of promising Celtic youngsters to head for Anfield, following the route taken by Ben Doak, who left as a teenager and has since forced his way into the first-team picture.

Liverpool have made a deliberate policy of aggressively recruiting elite youth talent from across Britain and Ireland. Within that strategy, Jikiemi is not seen as just another addition. Sources describe him as one of the standout signings of this entire recruitment cycle, a player ring-fenced early and pursued with unusual intensity.

The short-term plan is simple: settle, develop, adapt to the demands of a club that expects excellence at every level. The long-term ambition is anything but modest. There is a genuine belief at Anfield that he has the tools to challenge for senior minutes if his trajectory holds.

The double-lock of scholarship and pre-agreed long-term professional terms is Liverpool’s way of underlining that faith. Clubs do not move this decisively on a teenager unless they are convinced the ceiling is high.

Part of a bigger picture

All of this sits inside a broader rebuild of Liverpool’s squad profile. While the senior side is being reshaped under Andoni Iraola after a difficult title defence under Arne Slot last season, the club’s recruitment department is just as busy stockpiling tomorrow’s options.

Jikiemi is one pillar of that plan. He may be the headline today, but he is not the only one in their sights.

Liverpool hold a developing and serious interest in Gilberto Mora, one of the breakout young performers at the World Cup with Mexico. The chase for the teenager is expected to be competitive, with long-term admirers Manchester United likely to step back from what could become a complex multi-club pursuit.

Ayyoud Bouaddi, the gifted Morocco international at Lille, is another name on Liverpool’s radar, though prising him away now would require navigating what is expected to be a hefty, “eye-popping” fee.

These moves speak to a clear strategy. Sign players who can impact the present, yes, but also lock down the next wave before they explode on the global stage.

For now, the spotlight falls on Dara Jikiemi, the Scotland Under-16 skipper leaving the comfort of Celtic’s academy for the unforgiving scrutiny of Anfield. Liverpool are convinced they have stolen a march on the rest of Europe.

In a few years’ time, we will find out if this is remembered as just another clever youth deal, or the day a future Liverpool regular quietly slipped through the door.