Liverpool Signs Scotland U16 Captain Dara Jikiemi from Celtic
Liverpool have won another battle in Britain’s youth market, prising Scotland Under-16 captain Dara Jikiemi away from Celtic in a move they believe could save them millions down the line.
The 16-year-old has agreed terms on a switch to Anfield and will arrive this summer on a scholarship deal, with a first professional contract already lined up for when he turns 17 in January. That alone shows serious intent. The planning beyond that is even more revealing.
Club sources are convinced Liverpool have pulled off a masterstroke. An agreement is already in place for Jikiemi to sign a new long-term professional contract when he turns 18 in January 2028, a pre-emptive show of faith rarely seen for a player yet to kick a ball in the senior game. Inside Kirkby, they talk about him as one of the standout prospects of his generation.
A captain who walked away from Celtic
Celtic did not lose him easily. Jikiemi had the option to stay in Glasgow, where he had emerged as one of the jewels of their academy, a player many around the club expected to anchor their future. He chose Liverpool instead.
For a boy still in his mid-teens, that is a bold call. For Liverpool, it is a statement. Their academy staff believe they have landed a potential first-team footballer and have already mapped out a long-term pathway designed to carry him from youth football to the senior squad.
Those who have tracked his rise in Scotland talk about a “generational” profile: a leader in the dressing room, technically sharp, and already comfortable with the responsibility of wearing the armband for his country’s Under-16s. At that age group, plenty can change. Liverpool’s commitment suggests they are betting heavily that his trajectory will not.
His arrival also feeds into a growing pattern. Jikiemi will follow the trail blazed by Ben Doak, another precocious talent who swapped Celtic for Liverpool as a teenager and has since forced his way into the first-team picture. The Scottish champions are again watching one of their brightest lights head south to Merseyside.
A youth strategy with sharp edges
This is not a one-off opportunistic swoop. Liverpool have been pouring resources into elite youth recruitment across Britain and Ireland, assembling a pool of prospects they believe can underpin the club’s next cycle.
Inside the club, Jikiemi is viewed as one of the crown jewels of this particular intake. The expectation is not that he will be rushed. The short-term focus is clear: settle him into the academy, push his development, and let his game grow away from the glare of the Premier League spotlight. But the long-term ambition is just as clear. The belief is that he has the tools to knock on the first-team door.
By tying down not only his scholarship but also a future long-term professional commitment, Liverpool have put their confidence in writing. Few clubs move that decisively on a player of his age unless they are utterly convinced by what they see.
This sits neatly alongside the broader rebuild under Andoni Iraola. After a bruising title defence under Arne Slot last season, Liverpool’s new head coach wants a squad capable of challenging for the game’s biggest prizes again. That means proven quality now, but it also means a conveyor belt of talent pushing up from below.
Eyes on Mora and Bouaddi
Jikiemi is not the only teenager on the radar. Liverpool have developed a serious interest in Gilberto Mora, the Mexico starlet who emerged as one of the World Cup’s standout young performers. The chase for Mora is complicated, with Manchester United long-term admirers, but United are now expected to step back from a multi-club pursuit that could turn into a bidding war.
Ayyoud Bouaddi, the Morocco international at Lille, also features prominently on Liverpool’s list. Any move there will be expensive. Lille are preparing to demand a hefty fee to let him go, aware of the growing attention around the midfielder.
Put together, the picture is unmistakable. Liverpool are not just stocking an academy; they are constructing a future core, brick by brick, bet by bet. Jikiemi’s decision to leave Celtic for Merseyside is the latest piece of that puzzle.
If the Scotland Under-16 captain fulfils the expectations being placed on his shoulders, this summer’s quiet scholarship signing may be remembered as one of the most shrewd bits of business of Liverpool’s new era.
