1 week ago
21
With 27 days left of the summer transfer window, there are likely to be a few twists and turns yet. Liverpool, for example, is hoping that Alexander Isak might be one of them.
Until this point, Newcastle United has refused to sell its number nine. However, should a deal for Benjamin Sesko get over the line, that could pave the way for a reluctant green light.
Liverpool has already signed Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer, but Isak could still be a possibility. And there are more exciting signs this summer in addition to those names as well.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have both looked very sharp in pre-season, and while Trey Nyoni is hugely talented, Rio Ngumoha is the young talent whose status has been elevated the most.
Liverpool will continue to be careful with the former Chelsea academy starlet, but it is getting to the point now where there is a genuine conversation to be had about where he fits into the senior plans.
Luis Diaz has moved on to sign for Bayern Munich and Ngumoha now has two goals and two assists this summer for Liverpool. Within a couple of minutes of the Athletic Club game kicking off, he had curled a brilliant shot into the far corner.
He followed that up with a strong display, causing constant problems down the left, jinking this way and that. Fearless, direct, and with a mazy dribbling ability that few full-backs appear capable of coping with, Ngumoha looks the real deal.
Liverpool won't rely too heavily on the 16-year-old for obvious reasons, but there should be a pathway cleared for minutes.
Even if Isak arrives, that will still make it five senior attackers on Liverpool's books (assuming, in that case, that Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa move on, and that Wirtz is counted as a forward).
"We've lost two quality players with Diogo [Jota] and Luis Diaz," Arne Slot said post-match.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
"But we've added Hugo [Ekitike, who is] definitely a player that's going to be a very good player for us. And Rio is showing good things every time in pre-season."
Slot's plan means there will be opportunities — off the bench and in the domestic cups, mainly — for Ngumoha to step up. And that looks to be the ideal balance of experienced quality and prodigious teenage talent.
"That guy's ridiculous," Ben Doak told LFCTV. "He's going to have some career ahead of him. So sharp, so talented. If he can just keep going the way he's going, then anything's possible."
English (US) ·