Liverpool have been excellent at bringing through young players to feature in the first team of late.
The Reds had a very notable year indeed in that respect last season, with Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley both becoming mainstays with the senior side.
Bradley has been impressing on the international stage this week and the right-back looks set for a long career at the top level.
Quansah, meanwhile, may have lost his place in the Liverpool starting XI for the time being, but the 21-year-old is the biggest talent to come out of the academy since Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Along with those two, though, there are now a number of youngsters who should really be knocking on Arne Slot’s door for a spot in the first-team squad. For anyone who saw bits of training on Thursday, there is reason to be very excited about one of them.
Rio Ngumoha shows off skills in training
Liverpool have not always been the best club for young players to emerge at. Under Rafa Benitez in particular, the pathway at times appeared to be completely closed off.
Klopp was very good at opening that up again and- importantly – working with coaches like Barry Lewtas and academy director Alex Inglethorpe to really raise the level of the players.
That level has arguably never been higher and is now supplemented by some of the country’s best young talents, who have been convinced that the AXA Training Centre is the best place for their development.
The most recent example of this is 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha. Such is his profile, Ngumoha earned well wishes from John Terry when he left Chelsea for Liverpool this week.
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The forward comes with a reputation for being one of the biggest talents in the country, with journalist Fabrizio Romano hailing Ngumoha as an ‘exceptional’ talent.
It has been claimed that Ngumoha will go into the U18s this season. But on Thursday, footage emerged from LFCTV’s Inside Training video which showed the teenager out training with the U21s.
Federico Chiesa was involved in the session, too, and all eyes were understandably on the Italian.
However, Ngumoha really stood out as well. At one stage, the winger runs at his defender, throwing in a few stepovers for good measure. At break-neck speed, Ngumoha then shifts the ball inside onto his right foot, before arrowing a lovely effort of the post. Incredible stuff.
Staff excited over Rio Ngumoha
It was interesting to see Ngumoha up against his new Liverpool teammates on Thursday. Although younger than the rest of the lads, Rio did not look it.
The forward looks confident, explosive and incredibly quick. He’s going to really catch the eye this season.
It’s a good idea that Ngumoha will go into the U18s, though. From there, he can slowly – or quickly – build his way through the ranks without the spotlight being on him too much.
From what has been seen so far, it’s likely that the headlines won’t be too far away, however. It has been claimed that Liverpool staff are already excited about Ngumoha and he’s barely even arrived yet.
As far as first impressions go, this was a very good one. He may be heading to the U18s, but we don’t think it will be long before Rio is with the U21s again and then, perhaps, the first team.
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