The tricks and fancy flicks of Rio Ngumoha offer a glimpse into the future at Liverpool.
If the talented 16-year-old develops into the elite winger many expect, it won’t be long before he is integrated into the first team and recognised as the next breakout star.
The hype around Ngumoha — signed from Chelsea last year and already an emerging talent in the England youth setup — is growing. A productive end to last season after working with Liverpool coaches on his finishing in training helped build momentum for Ngumoha that he has taken into this summer and pre-season has been the perfect time for him to flourish.
A staggered return for some of Liverpool’s senior attackers opened up an opportunity in the opening friendly against Preston North End, televised on ITV1, opening him up to a wider audience. Ngumoha ran at the Preston defence with intent and sparked a new wave of optimism before scoring against Stoke City in a 5-0 win at Liverpool’s training ground. He then linked up with a 29-man squad on the tour of Hong Kong and Japan.
He is the most exciting teenage attacker at the club and was sold the big dream of representing Liverpool at senior level in the years to come when negotiating his move last summer.
Rio Ngumoha (No 73) celebrates his goal against Stoke with fellow youngster Trey Nyoni (Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Forming a pathway for young players is at the heart of the academy’s plans. Staying at Chelsea could have earned Ngumoha more money but he was encouraged by the potential of a fast-tracking process. He made his senior debut in the FA Cup win against Accrington Stanley last season.
Head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes have since picked up some of the best plug-and-play young talent across Europe, signing Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in deals worth almost £300million.
Yet many far less experienced youngsters still believe Liverpool is the best place to develop, either by breaking into the first team or landing an attractive alternative if Plan A fails.
Trey Nyoni, the 18-year-old midfielder signed from Leicester City in September 2023, realised that as he trained under Arne Slot for most of last season and made five senior appearances. Nyoni only returned to the under-21 set-up when he needed minutes to maintain match sharpness, and recently signed a new long-term contract.
Other youngsters, including Jayden Danns (19 years old), James McConnell (20) and Lewis Koumas (19) — players who helped Liverpool win the Carabao Cup against Chelsea in 2024 — may have been pushed further back in the pecking order, but time is still on their side. A forensic approach to finding the right loan move for each individual will help their development.
It’s also why Armin Pecsi, the 20-year-old goalkeeper, turned his back on regular football to join Liverpool from Puskas Akademia this summer, despite recognising that he would not be competing with current No 1, Alisson, and his backup, Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Armin Pecsi knows he is unlikely to get many senior games at Liverpool imminently (Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
Pecsi is on the 100-player longlist for this year’s Golden Boy, awarded to Europe’s best under-21 player. He was a regular for the Hungarian top-flight runners-up and had options to continue playing for other clubs across Europe who were keen to sign him. Yet Pecsi, a boyhood Liverpool supporter, recognised the value of moving to an elite club with world-class training facilities and high-level coaching. He was promised a place on the tour to help settle in, and the plan is to train for a year on Merseyside before moving on loan next season with a view to challenging for the first team in the next three to four years.
Matt Newberry, the director of global talent, handled the negotiations and pointed to the development of other goalkeepers such as Caoimhin Kelleher and Vitezslav Jaros when offering assurances for the future. Kelleher played 67 games for Liverpool in all competitions and moved to Brentford for £18m this summer, while Jaros is now on loan at Ajax and has developed into a top-level ‘keeper.
Liverpool put on a detailed presentation when they target youngsters and, alongside Ngumoha and Nyoni, they have signed Amara Nallo from West Ham United and both Alvin Ayman and Harvey Owen from Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent years.
Academy director Alex Inglethorpe sets the tone. Over 12 years at the club, he can point to a fine track record of promoting talent — the academy is located in the same building as the first-team at the AXA Training Centre, to underline the potential pathway for youngsters — and has established a strict culture. There is a £50,000-a-year academy wage cap, a car clause limiting engine sizes to 1.3 litres, and a rule where mobile phones are handed in on arrival.
Newberry, previously head of senior academy recruitment and head of loan management, has contributed heavily, too, and since Slot’s arrival, the connection between the departments has remained strong. The hiring of Rob Page (under-21s) and the expected arrival of Simon Wiles (under-18s) will bring a fresh coaching outlook and the hope is that results improve after a disappointing period for the development teams last season.
Winning, of course, is not the key objective. Bringing players through each age group is the ultimate aim. Liverpool can point to midfielder Curtis Jones — the only Scouser regularly in the team following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid — as the example of where players can get to if they combine talent with hard work.
Right-back Conor Bradley benefited from a loan spell at Bolton Wanderers after he was scouted for over a year and joined from County Tyrone youth side, Dungannon Swifts, in 2019.
Jarell Quansah, meanwhile, has just left the club to join Bundesliga runners-up Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £30m, showing that a future elsewhere is possible even if establishing a regular place in the team at Anfield is not forthcoming.
Landing the gem of German football in Wirtz, one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers in Ekitike, and two flying full-backs in Frimpong and Kerkez will make a difference after three quiet transfer windows.
Harvey Elliott, Tyler Morton and Owen Beck may have to move to fulfil their ambitions of playing regularly. Ben Doak’s time with the squad during pre-season could also put him in the shop window.
It wasn’t so long ago that Doak was the most exciting youngster at the club, only to be overshadowed by the hype that followed Ngumoha when he joined last summer. If either he or Ngumoha make it, that will be considered a success.
It’s no secret that greater attention is placed on players with the potential to kick on in the first team but that doesn’t mean that others suffer as a result.
Take Luca Stephenson, the well-liked utility player. He spent last year on loan at Dundee, where he made 31 consecutive appearances in the Scottish Premiership before returning to Merseyside with an injury in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Since signing from Sunderland in 2018, Stephenson has moved from midfield to right back and also as a makeshift centre-back with every tactical requirement clearly outlined along the way.
The 21-year-old is also on the tour and expected to sign a contract extension before heading out on loan, most likely back to Dundee unless a Championship club makes a move.
Liverpool see the benefit in monitoring his progress for another year, even though his chances of breaking into the first team are limited. While Stephenson may not generate the same level of excitement as Ngumoha and Nyoni, Liverpool have still given him a pathway for the future.
(Top photo: Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
