Liverpool in mix to sign two Championship wonderkids including Sunderland’s answer to Phil Foden

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Liverpool have been exceptional at picking up some of the best young talents in the country over recent years.

The Reds have built a reputation for plucking youngsters from their respective clubs and offering them a clear path to the first-team at Anfield.

Rio Ngumoha became the latest beneficiary of this last summer, when he joined Liverpool from Chelsea. The 16-year-old has already made his senior debut.

As they keep a lookout for the next hot prospects to snatch away, the Championship is a fine place to look.

In the second division, young players can often get more of a chance, and can quickly become used to the physicality and quality of the league.

And as they scour the country for players to add to the fringes of the Liverpool squad, two talents in the North East have reportedly caught the Reds’ attention.

Liverpool in the mix for Hayden Hackney and Chris Rigg

There has arguably never been more quality in the Championship than there is right now.

As Crystal Palace’s signing of Adam Wharton in 2024 showed, you can find top, top quality players lurking within the second division.

From Liverpool’s point of view, they have not usually been keen to shop in the lower leagues. The failure of Fabio Carvalho to deliver after joining from Fulham will have done little to assuage that view.

Nevertheless, according to The Daily Mail, it has not stopped the Reds from eyeing up Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney and Chris Rigg of Sunderland.

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While assessing the ‘top 10 wonderkids’ in the EFL, The Mail name Liverpool as a ‘possible landing spot’ for both young midfielders.

Scouts are said to have watched Hackney at Boro, while Rigg – who is described as having ‘traits of Phil Foden’ is also supposedly on the radar.

How much could they cost?

Rigg has been linked with Liverpool plenty of times since before even making his Sunderland debut as a 16-year-old.

Now 17 and with 58 senior appearances under his belt, there have been reports that Sunderland would sell Rigg for around £25m this summer.

Spanish paper AS have described the midfielder as a ‘sensation’, and Rigg won best young men’s player in the North East Football Writer’s this week, but that would seem a lot for such a young player.

Liverpool were linked with Hackney two years ago while he was still making his name at Boro.

Now 22, it seems a stretch to call the midfielder a ‘wonderkid’ but he certainly appears to have something a little bit special.

Champions League regulars Porto reportedly attempted to sign Hackney in January but saw a January bid rejected. It would seemingly cost a fair bit more for Boro to consider selling their academy product.