Liverpool Signs Scotland Under-16 Captain Dara Jikiemi

Liverpool have landed another of Britain’s most coveted teenagers, with Scotland Under-16 captain Dara Jikiemi turning his back on Celtic to join the Anfield academy in a move the club believes could pay off for a decade.

The deal, first flagged in March, is now in place. Jikiemi has agreed terms and will arrive on Merseyside this summer on a scholarship, before signing his first professional contract when he turns 17 in January. Behind the scenes, Liverpool have gone even further. An agreement is already lined up for a long-term professional deal once he turns 18 in January 2028 – a clear statement of how far they think he can go.

This is not a speculative punt on potential. Inside Kirkby, staff are convinced they have secured a player with genuine first-team prospects and have already sketched out a pathway designed to carry him from academy captain to senior contender. They see leadership, personality, and technical quality that mark him out from his peers.

Celtic did not want to lose him. Jikiemi had the option to stay in Glasgow, where he had become one of the standout performers in their youth ranks and a central figure in their academy plans. He chose the harder road. For the teenager and his advisers, Liverpool’s track record in blooding young talent and the clarity of the project in front of him tipped the balance.

Within the Scottish youth scene, Jikiemi is spoken about as a potential generational figure: a commanding Under-16 skipper with the touch and temperament to dictate games, and the presence to drag others with him. Liverpool’s recruitment department has come to the same conclusion and moved aggressively to make sure he did not slip away.

His arrival extends a pattern Celtic know only too well. Ben Doak made the same journey as a teenager, swapping the Bhoys for Liverpool and forcing his way into the first-team picture. Jikiemi is expected to walk a similar path, even if the early focus will be on his development in the academy rather than fast-tracking him into senior football.

Inside Anfield, though, the belief is clear: this is not just another promising kid. Those involved in the deal describe him as one of the standout additions of this entire youth recruitment cycle, a player whose ceiling justifies the level of planning and commitment already tied to his name.

Liverpool’s broader strategy underlines that thinking. While the senior side is being reshaped to chase major honours again after a stuttering title defence under Arne Slot, the club is pouring significant energy and resources into building an elite pool of youngsters who can compete for first-team places over the next few years.

Jikiemi is a central piece of that vision, not an afterthought.

The club’s scouting network has also cast its eye beyond Britain. There is a developing and serious interest in Mexico World Cup starlet Gilberto Mora, one of the breakout youngsters on the global stage, though any move would likely trigger a multi-club pursuit. Long-time admirers Manchester United are expected to back away from that particular race, wary of the complexity and cost of such a deal.

Ayyoud Bouaddi of Lille is another name on Liverpool’s radar, but prising the Morocco international away will not come cheap. The French club are set to demand a substantial fee, fully aware of the growing market for top-tier young midfielders.

For now, the headline belongs to Jikiemi. A teenage captain leaving the comfort of home, a superpower of British football betting big on his future, and an academy system quietly arming itself for the next era.

If Liverpool’s conviction is right, this is the kind of signing that one day saves them tens of millions – and gives Anfield a new leader to roar.