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Liverpool youngster Rio Ngumoha has impressed in pre-season, and his teammates already have a nickname for him. New signing Jeremie Frimpong has trained with the teenager for just over a month, and the Dutchman has labeled him Mr 1v1.
In the latest LFC All Red video, Frimpong heaped praise on the Chelsea academy product and gave him a new nickname. He said (via Express):
"That's Mr. 1 vs 1 right there!"
The laurels are flowing in for Ngumoha after his display in the pre-season games for Liverpool so far. The teenager has scored in two of the three matches so far, including a stunning solo strike against Athletic Bilbao at Anfield earlier in August.
Arne Slot has also been singing praises of the teenager, but wants the winger's feet on the ground. The Liverpool manager pointed out that they are yet to play against Premier League sides and believes it would be harder for the teenager to maintain his level. He told The Athletic:
"We've only played two games over here and we haven't played against Premier League opponents yet. But I see him train, I see him play, and the impact he has when he trains and plays is really promising. Playing in the Premier League, playing every three days with the Champions League games in between, that's something else."
"But he's definitely a player who shows at this moment in time that if he keeps bringing these performances in, then tonight (against Yokohama F Marinos) definitely won't be the last time he plays a few minutes for Liverpool. It's all about consistency. He needs to show it every single day we're on the pitch."
Rio Ngumoha was handed his senior debut last season when they faced Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. The teenager did not score or assist, but played 72 minutes, and that remains his only official game for the first team.
Rio Ngumoha to get more chances at Liverpool this season
Journalist Graeme Bailey was on TBR Football earlier this summer and reported that Liverpool were ready to give more chances to Rio Ngumoha if Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez leave. He added that the teenager has impressed Arne Slot and said:
"If both Nunez and Diaz leave, L'pool are expected to sign a left winger and a centre forward to fill those gaps. But separately, there's talk about Rio Ngumoha, a 16-year-old who could be involved with the first team next season."
"If Ngumoha gets opportunities on the left alongside players like Cody Gakpo, it raises the question of how urgent the need really is for another left-sided signing. But from what I'm hearing, Liverpool still want to bring someone in for that position."
The Reds have since sold Diaz to Bayern Munich and have a deal in place for Nunez to join Al-Hilal.
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Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.
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