Outside Anfield, the talk lately has mostly circled one question: who is about to leave on a free again—Trent Alexander-Arnold is joining Real Madrid for a fee of around €10 million, while Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Mohamed Salah and others face the prospect of walking away for nothing this summer. Against that backdrop, a youth announcement on Liverpool’s official website pulled supporters out of their habitual sighs: 15-year-old left winger Josh Abe has signed scholarship terms, with a three-year pre-professional contract due to take effect around his 17th birthday.
Four giants in pursuit, but Liverpool lock him down first
Abe has grown up in the Liverpool system since the age of four and is regarded as one of the most watched wide prospects of his age group anywhere in world football. Chelsea wanted payback for Rio Ngumoha being poached by Liverpool; Manchester United and Manchester City were both in the race, The Times has confirmed, and Real Madrid were watching closely too—photos of his visit to the Bernabéu circulated widely, and with him also being an Arsenal supporter, those off-pitch labels made the transfer soap opera feel more like a cross-city academy turf war. In the end, Liverpool persuaded Abe to turn down every offer and put pen to paper at Kirkby.
The Athletic’s James Pearce reported that at least one suitor had offered the teenager a professional deal worth £50,000 a week. For a 15-year-old, the figure is almost absurd—but Abe still chose to stay. England youth international, left-footed, quick, a regular fixture in Kirkby academy headlines—stack those tags together and it becomes clear why he had Liverpool, United, City, Chelsea and Madrid all in the frame at once.
Behind the retention: contracts and the mood in the stands
Beyond the scholarship arrangement, a lengthy pre-professional deal keeps Liverpool in control of the next 18 months to two-year window and helps offset the anxiety that they might “raise another prospect only to lose him for free.” Compared with first-team stars who could depart at zero cost this summer, keeping a winger nurtured at the club since he was four is a tangible morale boost for the Kirkby corridor and the season-ticket stands.
From a competitive standpoint, on matchday 38 of the 2025-26 season, Liverpool drew 1-1 at home. In the stands at Anfield, with a capacity of around 61,276, the end-of-season ease still carried an undercurrent of worry over squad departures. On the same day, Manchester United lost 0-3 away, Manchester City fell 1-2 at home, Chelsea won 2-1, and Real Madrid beat their opponents 4-2 at the Bernabéu in front of roughly 85,454, with 26 shots and 65% possession, riding a strong finish to the La Liga campaign. The giants went their separate ways on first-team results, yet clashed head-on over the same 15-year-old winger — a snapshot of today’s academy market in elite football.
Editorial angle and what to watch next
The question is not whether Abi will make it, but whether Liverpool can turn “keeping him” into “developing him”: if free departures from the first team keep happening, even the brightest academy output will be seen as dressing rivals’ windows. Rejecting big-money temptation this time and locking in a youth contract suggests that, for now at least, the club’s negotiators and the family are on the same side.
Over the next year, Abi will progress through the U18s and reserve-team schedule. Whether a full professional deal is triggered around his 17th birthday as the clauses allow, and whether he gets more first-team training exposure, are the two threads Kirkby-watchers at Anfield should track most closely. For Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid, missing out here will not end their trawl for English talent; for Liverpool, this announcement is more like hitting pause in a wave of departures — whether that becomes a turnaround will depend on whether, after the summer first-team clear-out, academy products can still be treated as club assets rather than parting gifts.
If you have lately scrolled past meme posts about “another one walking for free,” it is worth filing this announcement separately: in the big-club scramble, Liverpool have at least won the psychological and contractual battles for now — and Abi’s left foot still belongs, for the moment, to the Anfield story alone.
