View: ‘Talented’ Liverpool youngster will be a first team player this season
Rio Nguhoma is destined to feature for the Liverpool first team this season after making an impression in the youth setup.
The 15-year-old completed his long-awaited move to Merseyside from Chelsea in the summer after a prolonged 5-step investigation process from the Premier League.
Ngumoha has been finding his feet at the AXA Training Centre and, academy boss Barry Lewtas has revealed how far the youth prospect is in his development in an interview with the club’s official website [27 September].
Lewtas said: “Rio has not been working with us [U18s] an awful lot, to be fair, as he has been training with the U21s and we are still building him into the programme.
“He is a great kid, his attitude has been fantastic. He is obviously a talented boy and we are really fortunate to have him in and around the group on these matchdays.”
Training with the U21s at such a young age, who is to say a further step into the first team is not on the cards for Ngumoha this season?
Liverpool have a serious talent on their hands with Rio Nguhoma
Indeed, those within Chelsea were furious with losing one of their brightest prospects to a Premier League rival but the midfielder and his family saw his development better served on Merseyside.
After Chelsea shareowner Todd Boehly embarked on another frivolous spending spree this summer, stockpiling young prospects from around the world, the competition at Cobham is set to be the most competitive in England.
The Reds, on the other hand, took the opposite approach this summer. Bobby Clark, Sepp van den Berg, and Fabio Carvalho left on permanent deals to RB Salzburg and Brentford respectively.
While, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Calvin Ramsey, and Lewis Koumas completed season-long loan deals away from Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp put the AXA academy on the map last season with his academy stars playing major roles in the Carabao Cup triumph. Arne Slot has arrived and thinned out the pack, keeping only those who can challenge for a place in the first team.
Nguhoma arriving in the opposite direction, speaks volumes on how highly he is rated at the Reds and, his progression will surely be at the forefront of thinking in Kirkby this season.
In other Liverpool news, a Liverpool Women star is buzzing for a ‘Special’ Anfield occasion next month.
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