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The winger joined Liverpool in the summer transfer window from Chelsea.
He’s the latest academy bright spark that plenty of Kopites are talking about.
Certainly, Liverpool fans are excited about the potential of Rio Ngumoha. When it was clear Chelsea were frustrated they were losing one of their top prospects to a Premier League rival, the winger was always going to be surrounded by attention.
And judging by the formative stages of his Anfield career, it’s easy to see why the Reds appear to have pulled off a coup. Ngumoha’s dazzling runs and silky skills have been there for everyone to see when representing Liverpool at under-18, under-19 and under-21 level. The precocious 16-year-old has already been fast-tracked to train with Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders on several occasions - including tonight’s Champions League clash against Girona.
Because of illness, injury and suspensions, Liverpool will be without Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley, Kostas Tsimikas, Tyler Morton and Alexis Mac Allision against the La Liga outfit in Catalonia. Alisson Becker does return from a hamstring problem but it still leaves Slot short to fill a full complement of substitutes. UEFA rules allow match-day squads of 23 players rather than 20 in the Premier League.
However, there is no chance that Ngumoha can be on the bench. That is because the England youth international is not registered in Liverpool’s UEFA squad. Although Ngumoha is well below aged 21, he is not eligible to be included on List B as he has not been with the Reds for an uninterrupted period of two years.
Therefore, the teenager would have had to have been registered on the Reds’ List A before the league phase started. Trey Nyoni and Amara Nallo are on List A as they arrived on Merseyside from Leicester City and West Ham United respectively in the summer of 2023. Nyoni was in Slot’s squad for wins over Bologna and RB Leipzig. However, Nyoni and Nallo have not been named in the Girona set-up and will instead represent the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League along with Jayden Danns, who has recently recovered from a back injury.
James McConnell, who came off the bench in last season’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, is set to be involved for Slot’s side against Girona. The midfielder has recently got over a fitness issue of his own. Defender James Norris will also be in reserve.
Liverpool aim to continue their perfect record in this campaign’s Champions League against Girona, having won all five games so far.
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