Pre-season can be an ideal time for young players to impress their manager/head coach, and one teenager at Liverpool seems to have done just that over the past fortnight.
Having not been in England’s World Cup squad after making his Three Lions debut a couple of months ago, Rio Ngumoha was among the first batch of Reds players to report for duty at the AXA Training Centre in mid-July.
The 17-year-old played 45 minutes in each of the three friendlies on the tour to the United States, scoring a deflected winner against Wrexham, and he appears to have seized his opportunity to stake a claim for a starting berth in the Premier League opener away to Newcastle on 23 August.
In an article for the Daily Mail reflecting on the U.S. tour, Lewis Steele wrote that the teenage forward ‘now looks nailed on to start at St James’ Park’, almost a year to the day after scoring a 100th-minute winner at the same venue on his top-flight debut.
The Athletic‘s James Pearce also praised the 17-year-old’s impact on Stateside, writing: ‘Ngumoha is a gem and, after enjoying such an eye-catching breakthrough campaign in difficult circumstances in 2025-26, he looks ready to go to the next level.’
The journalist added that the Liverpool youngster ’caused Leeds a stack of problems’ in the first half in Chicago on Sunday and that, ‘with the stepovers and the burst of pace, Ngumoha is a delight to watch.’
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Ngumoha is one of three left-sided attackers in the Reds’ first-team squad, but he made the most of the absences of Cody Gakpo and Victor Munoz, both of whom missed the U.S. tour as they were on a break after their World Cup involvement.
The Dutchman returned to the AXA Training Centre over the past few days, while the new signing from Osasuna is due to report for duty next week (liverpoolfc.com).
Their returns will inevitably raise competition for starting berths once the Newcastle fixture rolls around, but the 17-year-old could hardly have done more to stake his candidacy for inclusion with his performances across the Atlantic.
With Liverpool still seeking a right-sided successor to Mo Salah, Andoni Iraola may well be looking to his current wingers to be adaptable to operating on either flank, and Ngumoha stepped up in that regard against Wrexham last week.
The Reds have three more friendlies to come before the Premier League season begins, so a lot could still happen between now and then. For now, though, the teenage sensation seems very well-placed to make the starting XI at St James’ Park in 19 days’ time.
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For some insane reason Richard Hughes only transfer target is another left winger Bradley Barcola.
You don’t spend huge money on a natural left winger to play him on the right. Right now with the current squad Iraola will be forced to play midfielders in defence. Gravenberch at centre back and szoboszlai at right back. If Rio ngumoha does get games he’ll end up on the right. Less effective there. He won’t get much game time unless Gakpo is sold.
Good luck to Iraola, he’s going to need it working under charlatan owners FSG. Arsenal, Manchester city, spurs, Chelsea , Manchester United all strengthening, we are going nowhere fast.
FSG took Liverpool to the top. Give them some credit. How quickly people forget the previous 30 years before FSG and Klopp were involved. Give everyone a minute to finish the transfer window and then start throwing mud. It doesn’t look great but before Allison and VVD joined, it didn’t look great either then. We have to trust that people who know football better than we do, are doing their best to get us to the top. They wanted diomande who clearly is the best potential when psg and real battled it out for him along with everyone else. He didn’t arrive. Did you ever think maybe they are working to stack the squad with the best in each position – Rio/barcola LW, Isak/ekitike CF, ?/munoz right wing perhaps? If they got diomande with Wirtz in behind supplying that forward line we’d be looking at the best forward line in the world most likely. I hate the phrase but it’s trust the process time and hope everyone does actually want to win rather than throwing money around aimlessly.
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