The 17-year-old made his debut for the Teesside club in their FA Cup tie against Fulham last month and has also been an unused substitute in a pair of Championship games for Kim Hellberg’s in-form side.
The Reds have an impressive track record of acquiring teenage talent from other British clubs – having done so in recent years with Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Ben Gannon-Doak, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha – and they appear to have their eyes set on another precocious gem.
Liverpool is one of the many major candidates for Cruz Ibeh
According to TEAMtalkLiverpool and Manchester City are ‘closely monitoring developments’ regarding Ibeh, while Arsenal and Chelsea are also ‘pushing’ to sign the youngster.
Middlesbrough are believed to be ‘fully aware of the increasing interest’ in the 17-year-old, who signed his first professional contract in November, but Teesside chiefs remain confident they can convince the star to resist the Premier League giants’ overtures and continue his development at the Riverside Stadium.
The teenage striker is ‘widely regarded’ behind the scenes as ‘one of the most gifted attacking talents’ that ‘Boro has produced in years.
Liverpool have a track record of giving youngsters a big break
Ibeh has been described as a ‘standout’ player in Middlesbrough’s academy with his ‘blend of pace, power and natural finishing ability’ (TEAMtalk), the latter of which featured when he scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 defeat to Ipswich Under-21s in Premier League 2 last month.
Those qualities should serve him well as he looks to cement his transition from minors to the first team. It is a testament to how high his ceiling could be that so many top Premier League clubs are aiming to sign him.
Should Liverpool win the race, he would obviously be a long-term signing, initially moving into the under-21 squad to further his development before moving into Arne Slot’s senior side when the time is deemed right.
The successes of Elliott and Ngumoha in particular illustrate that there is a first-team pathway at Anfield for players deemed good enough to make the biggest leap. These case studies could encourage Ibeh to choose the Reds over Man City or the London duo.
It is believed that Jeremy Jacquet has opted for a move to Merseyside instead of Chelsea for that reason, so perhaps the Middlesbrough star may feel the same way. That is, of course, if he decides not to stick around and continue to flourish at his current club.
He could be a name worth keeping an eye on in the coming months as he looks to further cement his already stellar reputation.
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