2 weeks ago
83
One of the best parts of preseason is seeing the players of the future given a platform to show what they're all about, and Rio Ngumoha certainly did that during a fine cameo display against Yokohama F. Marinos.
There has been plenty of hype surrounding the 16-year-old for some time now, and the excitement will only continue to grow if he continues to put in performances like he did on Wednesday.
It's been less than a year since Ngumoha swapped Chelsea for Liverpool, in what was viewed as one of the academy's biggest coups in years. Despite his tender age, Ngumoha had been a name known to some of the country's biggest clubs for some time, so Chelsea was understandably gutted to see him leave.
The Daily Mail reported at the time that Chelsea was "seething" with Liverpool for taking a "generational talent" away from West London.
Chelsea took Liverpool to a tribunal over the move in a bid to claw back a compensation fee for the player, having helped to develop Ngumoha between the years of 2016 and 2024, but the outcome of that tribunal has not been disclosed.
In the weeks after the Ngumoha deal went through, it was reported that Chelsea was so annoyed with the Reds that it refused to grant Liverpool scouts accreditation to attend Chelsea youth-team games.
Meanwhile, Arne Slot said that Ngumoha's impact is "really promising" as he addressed the youngster's display against Marinos, which included a brilliant solo goal.
Slot told The Athletic: "We’ve only played two games over here and we haven’t played against Premier League opponents yet, but I see him train, I see him play, and the impact he has when he trains and plays is really promising.
"Playing in the Premier League, playing every three days with the Champions League games in between, that’s something else.
"But he’s definitely a player who shows at this moment in time that if he keeps bringing these performances in, then tonight (against Marinos) definitely won’t be the last time he plays a few minutes for Liverpool. It’s all about consistency. He needs to show it every single day we’re on the pitch."
There have been calls from some supporters for Ngumoha to be used in the first team on a regular basis during the 2025-26 season, but the player himself is managing his own expectations.
"I'm not trying to rush because I'm still only young," Ngumoha said. "But at the same time, I just want to show the manager what I can do and not get too complacent. I just want to do bigger and better things for me and the club."
English (US) ·