LIVERPOOL SIGN RIGHT-BACK CALVIN RAMSAY FROM ABERDEEN
Liverpool have signed 18-year-old right-back Calvin Ramsay from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen for £6.5million.
The deal includes a guaranteed fee of £4million and £2.5million in add-ons and the player has signed a 5-year contract that will keep him at Anfield until just before his 24th birthday in the summer of 2027. The initial £4million fee alone is a club-record sale for Aberdeen Football Club and surpasses the £3million fee the club received from Nottingham Forest for centre-back Scott McKenna in 2020.
Ramsay becomes the third Liverpool signing this summer after the club signed striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica for £85million and Fabio Carvalho from Fulham. The Scotland Under-21 international is a huge talent that has impressed while playing his football north of the border, making 33 appearances for Aberdeen, providing 9 assists, and scoring once. His performances saw him named the SFWA Young Player of the Year last season and Liverpool see him as a long-term competitor at the right-back spot for 23-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Ramsay was watched by a number of Premier League sides and one or two European clubs from Germany and Italy but ended up signing with the FA and EFL Cup champions after the deal was agreed on Thursday last week. His preferred choice was always Liverpool and the 18-year-old has cited new teammates Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as two of his biggest influences before.
“As a full back, watching Trent and his crosses and his technical ability – if I can get to that level then it would be a bonus,” Ramsay said. “Andy Robertson at Liverpool and (Kieran) Tierney at Arsenal have been brilliant and they’re players I look up to, especially as they are full-backs like me. I feel I could go on to do that as well.”
While Klopp’s philosophy at Liverpool has included signing high-quality, experienced players that can slot in right away like Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Thiago Alcantara, another part of it has been getting in highly talented, young, and hungry players that can contribute like Ibrahim Konate, Harvey Elliott, and Curtis Jones. Calvin Ramsay fits the box of the latter and is intended to go into the first team straight away with Liverpool having zero intentions to loan him out. He will link up with the squad on the first day of pre-season.
Ramsay said in a statement after his signing: “I’m just buzzing and it’s a dream come true really to be here. It was a dream come true to play for Aberdeen and now to be at one of the biggest, if not the biggest club in the world. It’s a massive achievement. I’m looking forward to trying to show the fans what I’ve got. Hopefully, I can come in pre-season, show everyone at the club, the staff, players what I’ve got, and then we’ll see what happens from there.”
Ramsay spoke to Jürgen Klopp on the phone before he signed and said about him: “He’s a top guy. Obviously seen his hugs on telly and that, so hopefully I can get one of them. But no, he’s a top manager, one of the best ever potentially, so it’s going to be special to work under him. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”
Liverpool have been making headlines in the transfer market so far this summer and aside from sealing three new signings have also agreed on a deal to sell Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich for £35.1million. With over 9 weeks of the summer transfer window left, it would be fair to say that Liverpool’s handling of business has been nothing short of impeccable.
The reds will begin their 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a trip to London against newly-promoted Fulham on Saturday, the 6th of August.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero