Talented teenager Rio Ngumoha and Will Wright have showed they have plenty to offer the Liverpool manager this season, with Ngumoha in particular turning heads this summer
Liverpool may have splashed the cash on some big name arrivals this summer, but the kids are more than alright too.
While the likes of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have hogged the headlines during the Reds’ £265m outlay, it has been the emergence of a 16-year-old who has made just one senior competitive appearance which has been the story of Liverpool ’s pre-season.
And shortly after his latest heroics, Rio Ngumoha was joined by another talented teen who played in front of the Anfield crowd after an eventful few days.
Ngumoha joined Liverpool from Chelsea as a 15-year-old last summer, with the Reds’ offer of a pathway to the first-team proving enough to tempt him away from the Londoners, who were devastated to lose him.
READ MORE: Florian Wirtz makes feelings clear on Hugo Ekitike after just one Anfield match togetherREAD MORE: Florian Wirtz explains ‘freedom’ Arne Slot is giving him to make Liverpool even better
Chelsea legend John Terry, who has coached in the Blues academy, tweeted: “This boy is and will be a top player”, and the former Stamford Bridge captain is being proven right.
After making his senior debut in the FA Cup against Accrington Stanley last January, Ngumoha has scored three goals this pre-season, with the latest coming just two minutes into Monday’s opening friendly against Athletic Bilbao at the Kop end.
Taking the ball just inside his own half, Ngumoha raced at the visiting defence before placing a precise shot in off the post to spark wild celebrations.
Reds fans were chanting the teenager’s name and hadn’t stopped by the time he nodded down for Darwin Nunez to make it 2-0 four minutes later.
There is understandably a huge level of excitement around Ngumoha, and Arne Slot ’s attempts to dampen down the hype around him seem destined to fail.
There is now a vacancy on the left of the Liverpool attack following the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, and while Cody Gakpo will be the senior player in that position, Ngumoha is delivering a superb audition to be his understudy.
The second of Monday’s two friendlies saw Will Wright, 17, make a cameo appearance off the bench on the same day his transfer from Gary Neville and David Beckham ’s Salford City had been announced.
Wright, who had also interested Arsenal, was put through on goal by Federico Chiesa only for Spain No.1 Unai Simon to save his effort.
Wright, who made four senior appearances for Salford, is another who is very much seen as one for the future by Liverpool.
But with a strong belief that one or both of Nunez and Chiesa will depart this summer then opportunity could knock for him soon.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
