Latest news with #Ngumoha
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Liverpool wonderkid is a surprise candidate to REPLACE Luis Diaz
However, at the end of the day, Liverpool will want to bring in someone who can at least provide cover. Maybe not the same quality as Diaz but someone who has the same potential. And for that purpose Liverpool don't have to tap into the market. They can just promote one of the biggest talents in the academy right now. Advertisement We are of course talking about Rio Ngumoha. If Diaz leaves, he must absolutely be a surprise candidate to replace him. Ngumoha is a generational talent. There's a reason why Liverpool went all out to sign him and there's a reason why despite barely being 16-years-old, he's been regularly training with the club's first team all season, and catching the eye in training too. Ngumoha averages 13 dribblers per 90 minutes for Liverpool's academy sides this season. His one vs one ability puts him up there alongside some of the best prospects in the world. He showed against Accrington he can make an impact even against senior players. He's proving that in training sessions week, week out as well. Advertisement The one thing that has been missing a little bit is his end-product. But Ngumoha is improving that as well. He scored a brace in the U21s final game of the Premier League 2 season against Aston Villa. Recently, he provided an assist for England's U17 side in a crucial game against Italy at the U17 Euros and he scored twice and registered an assist against Northern Ireland in the final qualifying game in the lead-up to the tournament. Chelsea thought Ngumoha was good enough to play with the first team at 15-years-old. That's when he was first invited to participate in first team training sessions. He'll be 17-years-old by the start of the 2025/26 season and it already feels like he's ready to make the step-up. Sometimes you have to throw players in at the deep end, especially players as exciting as Ngumoha. If Diaz leaves, it will be a huge opportunity for the young man and Liverpool will absolutely consider Ngumoha as an option to fill the Colombian's void.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool ready to sign ‘the best' in England
Last summer the account on Twitter called Red Memorabilia were one of the first people to report on Liverpool signing Ngumoha. They seemed to be well connected when it comes to academy arrivals and it seems like they are now claiming that Liverpool are one of the clubs interested in signing Chelsea goalkeeper, Freddy Bernal. Advertisement They claim that Bernal is considered 'the best goalkeeper in England for his age' and that the club are keen on repeating their success with bringing in Ngumoha. Bernal is an U18 England international who Fabrizio Romano has said Arsenal made a £1.25m offer for. He's only 16-years-old but he's already got a string of appearances under his belt for Chelsea's U18 team. He very much ticks a lot of boxes in terms of the type of profile Liverpool like to sign so it would not be a surprise if the Reds indeed tried to bring him to the club this summer. Bernal's arrival would be another strong addition to an already strong goalkeeping department at the club. Obviously Alisson is head and shoulders above the rest but behind him Caoimhin Kelleher has been a brilliant deputy. Advertisement Vitezslav Jaros has also shone when called upon in the first team and can now call himself a Premier League champion. He's expected to leave the club on loan this summer meanwhile Kelleher could depart on a permanent deal. But in their place Giorgi Mamardashvili is set to arrive who is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and showcased his brilliant ability at the European Championships last summer. In the academy, Kornel Misciur is highly thought of and has been making waves at U18 and U21 level. He's even been in the travelling first team squad during the Reds' League Cup game against Brighton. Bernal would undoubtedly join Liverpool's U18 side initially if he were to come to the Reds but he would get the opportunity to training alongside the likes of Misciur, Mamardashvili and Alisson to learn from some of the best players in the game in his position.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Forgotten Liverpool midfielder scores and Rio Ngumoha assists in friendly win
Liverpool midfielder James Balagizi appeared in a friendly against Blackburn Rovers at U21 level this weekend, while Rio Ngumoha provided an assist in a non-competitive game in Kirkby. Balagizi played in the Premier League International Cup in January but he has only made two U21 appearances in the league this season because of a hamstring injury. Here, he played 90 minutes and found the back of the net with what proved to be the winner. Ranel Young, set up by Ngumoha, had earlier opened the scoring around 20 minutes in the game. Joe Boggan pulled one back for the visitor, but Liverpool could have won by more goals with Kieran Morrison and Trent Kone-Doherty missing opportunities to score. READ MORE: Liverpool may already have secret weapon in $65M transfer battle with Manchester City READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold's 'private response' to Liverpool backlash amid cryptic Mohamed Salah video Last season, Balagizi was on loan at Wigan Athletic in League One and Kilmarnock in Scotland but didn't nail down a place. His most successful loan was at Crawley Town, where he played 16 times. During the international break, Ngumoha scored a brilliant solo goal against Northern Ireland. That was when he was representing England at U17 level; he scored twice and assisted once in the rout. He also came off the bench against Israel and Slovenia. There are just three Premier League 2 games remaining for Liverpool's U21s this season. Next up is a trip to Brighton on April 6, before a home match against Leeds United on April 13 and a trip to Aston Villa on April 18 close out the season. says: Ngumoha is a really exciting winger and while he is raw, his talent is clear. It needs honing substantially before he is ready for senior action on a regular basis but there is a real player in the making there. Balagizi has been incredibly unfortunate with injuries over the last couple of years. He is another with real talent but he just needs to stay fit and get regular game time somewhere. That probably means a move away permanently when the season comes to an end.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steve McManaman names 'amazing' Liverpool prospect but issues 'carried away' warning
Former Liverpool player Steve McManaman talked up Rio Ngumoha but warned against getting carried away with his lofty potential. Ngumoha made a high-profile move from Chelsea to Liverpool aged just 15 last summer and made his senior debut for the Reds just four months after his 16th birthday, starting in the FA Cup third round against Accrington Stanley. The youngster recently came up against former club Chelsea as Liverpool's Under-18s mounted a dramatic late comeback to win 3-2 in the U18 Premier League Cup, scoring a fine equalizer late in the game. There is plenty of hype surrounding the teenager, who was the subject of interest from a host of top clubs last year, but McManaman is keen for him to stay grounded. READ MORE: Mohamed Salah 'wanted to leave Liverpool due to Jurgen Klopp' but stayed because of Arne Slot READ MORE: Luis Enrique warns PSG is in 'best moment' as Anfield claims rejected ahead of Liverpool tie 'He scored a nice goal against Chelsea the other day, of course that was his old team, so I don't know whether he (Ngumoha) felt he had a point to prove," McManaman said on the Aldo Meets Podcast. "Funnily enough, I saw him on Friday, as I said, and I said to him, 'You know, don't let yourself get carried away' - because of the story, because of what happened with the transfer coming into Liverpool, and there was still a little bit of bad blood there, and his family wants them to do well. You just have to make sure he didn't get carried away. 'Playing the way he did and scoring the goal and setting one up really late on in the game, I think he'll be very happy. As I said, we always have one, don't we? We brought Ben Doak down and he was the little skilful dribbler, and he's going to be a great player, and he's doing really well at Middlesbrough. 'He (Ngumoha) is only 16 and you can't get carried away with him. He's got really nice traits. He'll work hard, he's in the right place, and let's hope he develops exactly how everybody wants him to develop. "He's 16, you don't want to say he's amazing. His ability is fantastic, but you just want to say, 'He's cool, and he's doing the right things' - and that's all you can say at the moment, because people can get injured. Kaide Gordon had a bad injury, was out for 16 months. You're loath to get carried away with the kids, because you know what can easily happen so let's hope they can keep progressing and hopefully be in the first team in the future."
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool suffers semi-final heartbreak as Rio Ngumoha quiet and summer signing offers glimpse
Liverpool U18s have crashed out of the U18 Premier League Cup at the semi-final stage, losing 3-0 at home to Reading. Rio Ngumoha was involved in the game but the Reds couldn't ever get a proper footing. Reading crashed a shot against the bar in the first half and Ngumoha twisted and turned past his marker before lifting a shot over the top from close range — albeit on an angle — but the first half was limited in terms of chances. It was tight and there were more foul throws than genuine opportunities to break the deadlock. Joe Bradshaw, playing on the right wing for Liverpool, has scored 13 times so far this season. Here, though, he didn't have much in the way of an opportunity. Likewise, Josh Sonnie-Lambie, playing as the Liverpool number nine, was isolated. READ MORE: Luis Enrique warns PSG is in 'best moment' as Anfield claims rejected ahead of Liverpool tie READ MORE: Mohamed Salah 'wanted to leave Liverpool due to Jurgen Klopp' but stayed because of Arne Slot George Booth, on the hour mark, scored the first goal of the game when the ball dropped for him to shoot. A low effort deflected amid a crowd of bodies and crept into the corner of Kornel Miscuir's goal. A few minutes later, the Reading lead was doubled through Emmanuel Osho. When the ball was pulled back to the visiting number nine inside the penalty area, he smashed a shot into the top corner. Amara Nallo, who scored an own-goal last weekend and was sent off minutes into his senior debut against PSV in the Champions League, had already been booked for hauling back Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith. That was at 0-0, and two goals later, he conceded a penalty kick for a trip, which Coke-Miles-Smith converted. He did, though, avoid a second booking. Alvin Ayman, signed from Wolves last summer, impressed with his technical ability in the center of the field, but his influence waned a little in the second half. He signed his first professional contract at Anfield just a few weeks ago and has become a thriving midfielder having played at full-back earlier in his career. Teenage talent Trey Nyoni has dropped down into the U18 age group at times in this tournament, but he was selected for the first-team trip to PSG in the Champions League, so wasn't involved here. Without him, Ayman did well to dribble out of tight spaces under pressure, but Reading slowly grew more and more in control. Liverpool had lost its last four games in a row in this age group heading into the fixture. It has now crashed out of the cup with a scoreline that looked unlikely at half-time, with Reading taking on West Ham United in the final.
