Latest on Rio Ngumoha as Liverpool BATTLE difficult choice

Here's the latest report on Rio Ngumoha as Liverpool battle a fierce decision on the wonderkid. There isn't really a correct answer.

Liverpool know they've got a potential superstar in Rio Ngumoha. The teenager arrived from Chelsea in 2024 and was immediately surrounded by hype.

The Blues were devastated to lose him, after all, while Liverpool quickly moved him up their youth teams. There was a sense that he could be the future of this team if he develops correctly.

Last season was more about integration than anything and Ngumoha only feature once. That came in an FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley and made him the youngest starter in Liverpool's history.

So what now? Ngumoha has featured nine times this season but he's in that strange middle ground of being a bit too young to be a key player but being good enough that he needs minutes to develop properly.

Here's what Liverpool are reportedly thinking.

Liverpool and Rio Ngumoha

The other side of this is that Liverpool do need a winger. They sold Luis Diaz in the summer and didn't replace him, while Mo Salah has no real competition on the right side.

They've been linked consistently with Antoine Semenyo, for instance, and he's available for £65m with a release clause in January. He could well be the answer to Liverpool's squad problem on the wing.

However, the Athletic reports that Liverpool are making sure not to block Ngumoha's path to the first team. That means avoiding transfers that put a player in front of him for the near future.

Semenyo would be that, given we can't imagine he'd join to exclusively play on the right behind Salah. Ngumoha's development, then, may take priority over the arrival of an elite winger.

But that does beg some questions. First and foremost, why isn't Ngumoha playing more if that's the plan? He's had a total of 46 Premier League minutes this season and that's going to hurt his development far more than signing a new player.

So we're not sure what the plan is here. Ngumoha's pathway already looks blocked as he's not getting picked. Much like the rest of the squad, Liverpool need to figure out exactly who they want and why - because they risk ending up with nothing here if things continue.

Either Ngumoha plays more or someone comes in to offer something.

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