John Terry has been working with Chelsea’s young players in recent years (Picture: Getty)
John Terry fears Chelsea have made a costly error by allowing youngster Rio Ngumoha to slip through their grasp and join Premier League rivals Liverpool.
The 15-year-old made the decision to leave his boyhood club at the end of last season and his move to Anfield has now been officially confirmed.
Already an England youth international, Ngumoha has signed a scholar’s contract and will go straight into Liverpool’s Under-18 squad.
Terry congratulated Ngumoha upon with a message on social media once his move to the Merseyside giants had been rubberstamped and went a step further replying to a post on Instagram predicting that the gifted teenager will be a ‘top player’.
Ngumoha reportedly even trained with the Blues’ first team at points last season and has two goals and two assists in his nine games for England Under-16s.
Despite being at Chelsea throughout the age groups, the teenager is said to have been keen on the move due to Liverpool’s track record of providing a clear pathway into the first team for younger talents.
It has been another summer of upheaval at Chelsea, both on and off the pitch, and another significant change was confirmed on Thursday when it was announced that chief executive Chris Jurasek had left the club to be replaced by Jason Gannon.
Rio Ngumoha is making the move from Chelsea to Liverpool (Picture: Getty)
Jurasek will return to Clearlake Capital, the co-controlling owners of Chelsea, after just over a year in the role at the club.
‘I am incredibly proud to have led this historic football club into its next chapter,’ Jurasek said.
‘We have accomplished the task of building a team both on and off the pitch that means the club is well-positioned for long-term success.’
During his time at the helm, Jurasek made several decisions that were met with disapproval by Chelsea’s match-going supporters, including referring to them as customers rather than fans.
He also ended a long-standing bus subsidy for away fans and implemented the first general admission season ticket price increases in over a decade.
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