Who is Rio Ngumoha? – Liverpool’s ‘sensational new talent’ makes senior career debut v Accrington
Rio Ngumoha is the standout inclusion in Liverpool’s much-changed starting XI for this afternoon’s FA Cup third round clash against Accrington Stanley.
The 16-year-old’s name will already be familiar to most Reds supporters after his protracted transfer from Chelsea’s academy last year and some subsequent eye-catching displays at underage level on Merseyside.
Who is Rio Ngumoha?
Born on 29 August 2008, the winger has already carved out a profile for himself as one of the most highly-rated young footballers in the UK, and it’s a tremendous show of faith from Arne Slot to put him into the starting line-up today for his senior career debut.
Liverpool’s capture of Ngumoha was anything but straightforward – the transfer had to go through a five-stage review process from the Premier League before it became official, although this is a standard procedure when a young player is moving between two Category 1 academies (The Athletic).
He was named player of the tournament when Chelsea’s under-16s were crowned national champions in October 2023 and had played for the Blues’ under-21 side before his move to Merseyside last year.
Just how good is Ngumoha?
At the time of the transfer going through in September, Fabrizio Romano described the 16-year-old as a ‘sensational new talent’ who Anfield chiefs ‘are in love with’, believing him to have ‘really insane’ potential and the necessary attitude to succeed in first-team football.
Stamford Bridge legend John Terry – now a coach in the west London club’s academy – also provided a glowing reference for Ngumoha when he said ‘This boy is and will be a top, top player’.
The teenager has provided four assists in 13 outings at underage level for Liverpool and has stood out with some eye-catching displays, tormenting Newcastle’s under-18s with some majestic dribbles and stepovers, and attempting an audacious effort which almost resulted in what would’ve been a sensational goal in a UEFA Youth League clash against Bologna.
A senior debut has already seemed well within his grasp, having trained with the first-team squad on several occasions and been named on the bench for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Southampton last month.
Today, Ngumoha makes his much-anticipated professional bow little more than four months after his 16th birthday. If all goes to plan, it’ll be the first of many, many games in the career of this dazzling young talent.
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