Liverpool WONDERKID Rio Ngumoha close to first-team call-up | OneFootball

Liverpool’s youth development has always been a point of pride for the club and there is clearly fresh impetus in this from Michael Edwards, Arne Slot and new sporting director Richard Hughes.

With Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah becoming mainstays of the first-team squad, the dial has shifted towards Tyler Morton and Trey Nyoni as the next in line.

Morton experienced a Champions League matchday with the first team recently, when Liverpool travelled to Milan, whilst Nyoni got the chance to do the same recently for the home game against Bologna.

One of the biggest youth stories of the season so far is new signing Rio Ngumoha. The 16-year-old joined Liverpool from Chelsea’s youth squad over the summer, in a move that was seen as a statement of intent from Hughes.

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Ngumoha has already impressed in the Under-18s side, grabbing his first assist in his second appearance, away to Leeds United.

The attacker has also featured heavily in two UEFA Youth League matches, scoring in the second one against Bologna.

First team next for Ngumoha?

Rio now has a new accolade, being named in The Guardian’s ‘Next Generation 2024’ list, a list that tracks 20 of the most promising young 16-17 year old talents at Premier League clubs.

The report acknowledges John Terry’s dismay at Chelsea losing a “top, top player” with Ngumoha moving away and the fact that the promising youngster has already trained with Liverpool's first team, a move designed to accelerate his promotion to the Under-21s.

However, the report also speculates that Ngumoha's sheer talent could actually lead to him being a regular on the first-team scene, much sooner than expected.

This is an incredibly exciting proposition and wouldn’t be all too surprising, given new head coach Arne Slot’s willingness to incorporate young talents into his first-team setup so as not to overwhelm them when they are really needed.

Slot took Morton, 21, to Milan but named Nyoni - four years younger - in a Champions League squad for the first time in the more familiar surroundings of Anfield.

If that pattern is followed, then we could see Ngumoha on the bench when Bayer Leverkusen visit on November 5th.

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