Sunday's Merseyside derby against Everton marks a huge moment for Liverpool starlet Rio Ngumoha. The clamour for more involvement for the 17-year-old has intensified after finding the target against Fulham and a positive cameo against Paris Saint-Germain.
In a campaign which has been disappointing for the Reds, Ngumoha has been one of the bright sparks for Arne Slot's side. While the Dutchman has been persistently cautious with the youngster, the impressive displays from the eye-catching winger have become too good to resist.
Ngumoha superbly curled beyond Bernd Leno to break the deadlock against the Cottagers last Saturday, the teenager's effort sparked the Reds into life as they returned to winning ways - bolstering their European chances in the process. The strike was his second goal of the season, after his dramatic winner at St James' Park against Newcastle United, and his first at Anfield.
Liverpool's academy recruitment is proving to pay dividends after they moved to sign the forward from Premier League rivals Chelsea. The Reds were ruled to pay at least £2.8million for the 17-year-old after leaving the Londoners in September 2024, signing his first professional contract on Merseyside.
The emergence of Ngumoha may have come as a shock to those externally away from Liverpool, and even Chelsea. But not for Saul Isaksson-Hurst, a former youth coach at the West London clubs' academy, who was his under-9s manager at Chelsea while the forward progressed through their academy ranks.
Now an individual skill development coach, he continues to work closely with footballers around the country and isn't surprised that the 17-year-old is hitting the headlines.
He told the ECHO: "(He was) just unbelievable in terms of his ability to move with the ball, break lines, beat players, just electric. A really exciting player, the sort of player you love to watch, everybody likes. Just a real, real box office player.
"I knew of him, obviously he was in the under-8s programme, I knew of him, football is a small world, London is a small place.
"When I first saw him properly I was really blown away and you've got to remember as well, amongst lots of good other players, Chelsea always has generally more better players than anybody else. He stood out at that time and he was sensational."
Isaksson-Hurst counts the likes of Antoine Semenyo and Noni Madueke as some of the players he currently coaches. But during his four years at Chelsea's academy, he oversaw the development of the likes of current Bayern Munich and Germany star Jamal Musiala. Ngumoha is among the best he has seen.
He said: "He’s right up near the top [players that he’s coached]. He is a great talent with loads of potential, in terms of someone who's got the potential to do everything in the game, he's got it all.
"I remember we were at a tournament in France and we didn't do that well, actually. We went out and won in the early rounds but we were playing against Ajax, Juventus and all the big clubs in Europe.
"But he still won player of the tournament and I thought it was amazing, because especially in youth football they always give it to one of the winners, but he was that good, even though we didn't t win the tournament, that they still gave him player of the tournament.
"That's what it's all about, going to a tournament in Europe and standing out, even when your team's not doing well, still looking like the best player easily amongst the best clubs in Europe."
It has been an underwhelming season for Liverpool as they failed in their Premier League title defence. Performances haven't been helped by a significant drop in form from the likes of Salah, while new signings have been hampered by long-term or recurring injuries.
With six matches remaining, Liverpool have the safety net of fifth place for Champions League qualification but the pressure is on to see out the job and finish the season well.
A win over Everton would be a significant boost to their aspirations to maintain their place at Europe's top table, but their poor performances this season illustrate the fragility.
For Slot, as well as pressure surrounding his job, he has been forced to field questions surrounding Ngumoha's involvement. The 17-year-old's impressive displays can't be ignored going into the business end of the season.
Isaksson-Hurst said: "If you're good enough, you're old enough. When you're one of the top young talents in Europe, you need to be playing games, you already need to be making an impact and knocking on the door.
"I'm not surprised to see him (performing well), anyone within the game knows he's always had the ability to do it. It's great to see him doing it at a top club like Liverpool.
"I think Rio has the potential to be a Ballon d'Or winner, he's one of the best young players in European football. He's got everything for me so the sky's the limit."
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