FOOTBALL
By Eishna Rawat
Posted on June 8, 2026 6:00 pm | Updated on June 8, 2026 3:59 pm The 15-year-old winger rejected £50,000-a-week offers to stay at Anfield.
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As per the latest news, Liverpool has won the race for one of English football’s most exciting young talents. Josh Abe has put pen to paper on a scholarship at Anfield, with a full professional contract set to follow when he turns 17 in July 2027.
Josh Abe: The talent everyone was chasing
As reported by The Athletic, Josh Abe turned down offers worth up to £50,000-a-week from Premier League rivals to stay put. That’s not a small number for a teenager. It indicates how badly others wanted him. Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United were all in the race. None of them got him. That says a lot about how this was handled.
As reported by The Athletic, negotiations were led by Liverpool’s Sporting Director, Julian Ward over several months. It wasn’t quick or easy. The interest from rival clubs was serious and persistent. The Reds kept at it, and it paid off in the end.
At age four, he arrived at the club’s pre-academy, and officially signed for the under-nines after the club beat City. That early trust clearly meant something when the big call came. The pathway to the first team was the deciding factor for him and his family. Staying made more sense than chasing a bigger pay cheque elsewhere.
What Josh Abe has shown on the pitch?
The **football**itself is the real story here. As reported by The Athletic, Josh Abe scored a three times against Leeds United in a 6-1 win for the under-18s this season. He also made his UEFA Youth League debut against MSK Zilina in February. The numbers justify the excitement. For a boy playing up an age group, that kind of output is seriously impressive.
Josh Abe for Liverpool U18 in 2025/26, as per FotMob:
Teams Matches Goals Assists
Liverpool U18 12 9 3
Liverpool U19 1 0 0
England U15 6 1 2
He trained with the first-team squad on several occasions last season. The club doesn’t do that casually with 15-year-olds. A knee injury, picked up while playing for England Under-16s in Turkey, cut his season short. But he’s expected to be fully fit for pre-season. He’ll join the squad for next month’s tour of the United States, with friendlies lined up in Nashville, New York, and Chicago. The club has also confirmed he’ll receive a first-team squad number for the 2026-27 season.
The Iraola factor and what comes next
As reported by ESPN, Andoni Iraola has been officially confirmed as Liverpool’s new head coach, replacing Arne Slot. For a young player like Josh Abe, the timing could not be better. Iraola built a strong reputation at Bournemouth for trusting youth and giving them real minutes. Dean Huijsen, Rayan Vitor, and Eli Junior Kroupi all stepped up under him at the Cherries.
As reported by RTE Sport, Liverpool were drawn to Iraola partly because of his track record developing players without massive resources, something that remains a core value at the club. The Kop faithful will be watching Abe closely, and rightly so. He likes to cut in from the right and drive at defenders with pace and directness. The kind of football Iraola likes to deploy is direct, high-intensity attacking play with wide forwards driving at defenders.
This is more than just a contract story. A generational talent stays home, a new coach arrives who genuinely loves working with young players, and a big pre-season tour is right around the corner. The future looks bright at Anfield, and Josh Abe is a big part of why.
Read More: Arne Slot sacked by Liverpool just one year after glory
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Eishna Rawat
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