A outstanding summer for Rio Ngumoha at Liverpool has continued into early September, as Paul Gorst explains
(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
A breakout summer for Rio Ngumoha continued into early September with two more milestones ticked off for the Liverpool starlet, just days after turning 17.
Having netted three times in pre-season before becoming the Reds' youngest scorer of all time with a dramatic 100th-minute winner at Newcastle last month at the age of 16 years and 361 days, Ngumoha was then handed his England Under-19 debut in a 2-0 win over Ukraine on September 3 before he was included in Arne Slot's Champions League squad for the group stage of Europe's most premier competition on the same day.
It's been a few years since there was this kind of an acute buzz around a young player from the club's Academy. Even Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones did not burst on to the scene in such a fashion and while those at the club are understandably keen not to hype him up too much, it is easy to see why there is so much excitement.
"Potentially elite" was one source's succinct appraisal of Ngumoha when he joined from Stamford Bridge last summer, while another who had watched him closely from his Chelsea days spoke of their belief that the teenager should be rated among the very best youngsters in European football.
"His mentality is excellent," the ECHO was told at the time. "The difference is: he wants to be the best. It's a wonderful move. Chelsea didn't help themselves, they didn't do enough [to keep him] over the last two years."
Former coaches have spoken about how Ngumoha would be one of the last to finish in the gym late in the evenings after training and it's understood the player's brother, James, is a key figure when it comes to keeping feet on the ground and a head out the clouds.
For the older Ngumoha sibling though, there is cavalry on the horizon to help, with Mohamed Salah revealing some sage advice for a new team-mate who is nearly half his age. An aversion to "fake" social media was one of Salah's first principles, while there was also a warning that some players can peak too early.
Salah says: "I told him after the (Newcastle) game: 'Just leave the social media alone'. OK, you can be happy about the goal with your family, with your friends. Enjoy the moment to the max because it's like your first moments in football.
"But don't really get engaged and just get your appreciation from the outside world because it's always going to be fake. You're going to always try to seek that – that feeling from outside if you just get the appreciation from outside.
"So what future is waiting for him depends how he's going to handle the situation. How are we going to work? I need to work hard and just stay humble because he's very young. I told him that some players peak too early and they're going to struggle after that."
As far as role models go for a young forward at the sharp end of the game, there cannot be a better example in world football than the uber-professional Salah, who remains one of the planet's very best forwards at the age of 33 through dedication to his craft.
"It starts with mentality, of course," says Virgil van Dijk. "You have to have the right mindset. Nowadays, if you are a football player of the highest level, it takes much more than just playing on the pitch. You have to deal with a lot of things off the pitch as well.
"Mentally, physically, there are a lot of games. But it is a good start from him. He has to have the motivation to keep working and hopefully he will have a fantastic career."
It's 12 months now since Ngumoha took his first inauspicious steps towards Liverpool stardom, emerging off the bench at Puma House of Football for a goalless draw with AC Milan in the UEFA Youth League.
Less than a year later, the England Under-19 international is now beginning to make his name for Slot's Premier League champions. It's been quite the ascent but Ngumoha is just getting started and with the likes of Salah and Van Dijk around to help, further progress is expected just as rapidly.