Louie Moulden Transfer from Liverpool to Manchester City Reportedly Investigated

The Premier League is reportedly investigating Manchester City's acquisition of former Liverpool academy goalkeeper Louie Moulden, who moved to the Etihad Stadium from Anfield this past summer. 

According to the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce, the transfer is yet to be officially approved by the Premier League, which has to assess whether there are "sound footballing reasons" for moves between category one academies. 

Both Liverpool's and Manchester City's youth setups fall under that, and Pearce added City could be forced to pay a £25,000 fine if it's found their conduct in the transfer was less than satisfactory.

Matt Hughes of the Times reported Liverpool were "unhappy" to lose the 15-year-old, who was pictured signing his Citizens contract in early July, even though the deal is yet to be passed through the system:

The news has emerged just as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid each prepare to serve transfer bans for the duration of 2017 due to their illegal acquisition of underage players, as explained by BBC Sport in September.

Barcelona also served a transfer suspension in 2015 for a similar issue, and although this example is much smaller in terms of scale, City may not count themselves exempt from punishment in future.

Pearce added in his report that the Premier League could also refer the case to an independent commission, which could then devise a greater punishment than a mere £25,000 fine.

Liverpool blogger Jake Joe testified to Moulden's quality over the course of the summer, when he impressed for the Reds underage groups:

"

Finished 6th in the tournament.
Louie Moulden with yet another GK of the tournament. #lfc #talent pic.twitter.com/CSTqpGlTTl

— Jake Joe (@AcademyLFC) June 5, 2016"

The teenager is a highly promising recruit, having already featured for England's youth groups at under-15 level level as early as 2015, meaning the Citizens could have a future homegrown star on their hands.