Liverpool close to sale of youngster Elijah Gift with Athletic Bilbao interested
Academy forward Elijah Gift is edging closer to joining Athletic Bilbao as his transfer moves forward following Liverpool FC’s acceptance of a transfer fee from the La Liga club. The negotiations between the two teams have reached an agreement, paving the way for Gift’s potential move to the Spanish side.
As per the ECHO, the 16-year-old could oversee a return to his native in Spain and explore the opportunity of playing for a top Spanish club like Bilbao. Elijah Gift joined the Reds as a U12 player from Huddersfield Town, and since has donned the Reds of Merseyside.
This season alone, across all competitions, he has three goals and as many assists in 20 appearances. Liverpool pocketing a fee worth £1m and thereabouts as per The Athletic could prove to be a good deal for the Reds.
Bilbao has a well-known policy of exclusively recruiting players from the Basque region, making their interest in the winger particularly significant. As a result of this strict selection criteria, the club sees itself forced to pay up a premium price, at least for a 16-year-old.
Gift to Bilbao
Liverpool have plenty of options when it comes to wide players in the academy, and that could be one of the reasons why the Reds are open to selling the player and literally handing Bilbao a ‘Gift’.
With the inclusion of talented players such as Ben Doak, Harvey Blair, Trent Kone-Doherty, and Ranel Young, who recently inked his first professional contract with the club, the Young Reds boast an abundance of skill on the wings in both the Under-21s and Under-18s squads.
Liverpool’s wide players have a significant void to fill in the coming years, with Mohamed Salah also ageing and needing replacement at one point in the future. Any of these mentioned players could potentially have a huge role in the Reds’ future taking on the baton from the Egyptian.
While we bid farewell to Elijah Gift and wish him the best in his future endeavours, we eagerly anticipate the emergence of new stars who will carry the club forward.
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Liverpool’s rich history and commitment to promoting youth talent ensure that the future remains bright for the club and its fans. Hopefully, we have more players from the academy establish themselves as regulars of the first team in the coming years.
