Despite getting another call-up to first team training, Liverpool fans won’t be seeing Rio Ngumoha make his Champions League debut any time soon.
The 16-year-old has made a big impression since completing his move from Chelsea during the summer. Ngumoha’s performances for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s U18s look to have caught the eye of Arne Slot, who has already called him up to train with the senior team on a few occasions this season.
His latest call-up came on Monday as the Reds prepared for the trip to Girona, with Ngumoha joining fellow academy stars James Norris, Amara Nallo, James McConnell, Trey Nyoni and Jayden Danns in training with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
Only two of those youngsters were included in the squad for Liverpool’s latest Champions League encounter though, with left-back Norris and midfielder McConnell getting the nod. Ngumoha, Nallo, Nyoni and Danns have traveled to Spain, but only to feature for the U19s in their UEFA Youth League clash with Girona.
In any case, had Slot wanted to include Ngumoha in his senior squad, he would have been prevented by UEFA rules.
Liverpool is required to register Ngumoha as part of its List A for the Champions League, with that list having been finalized before the start of this season’s competition. Although an unlimited number of players born on or after January 1 of 2003 can be named on List B – which can be updated before any matchday – the teenager doesn’t meet the necessary requirements to be included.
Virgil van Dijk and Rio Ngumoha in training for Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk and Rio Ngumoha in training for Liverpool (Image: Getty Images)
Any player named on List B must have been at the club for an uninterrupted period of at least two years. With Ngumoha having only joined the Reds from Chelsea in September, he therefore would need to be included on List A like Nyoni and Nallo, who joined from Leicester and West Ham respectively in 2023.
Liverpool can add Ngumoha to the list when the registration window opens again for the knockout stages, and with only 24 out of a maximum of 25 players currently named on List A, there is the scope to do so.
Having not made his senior debut yet though, it’s unlikely Liverpool would throw the youngster into the mix for the latter stages of the competition, so Ngumoha will have to wait a little while longer to make his Champions League bow.