Genius Richard Hughes winger move has saved Liverpool £87m

This week it emerged in various reports that Liverpool were considering changes on the wing in the summer transfer window.

Players reported to be under consideration include RB Leipzig’s forward prodigy Yan Diomande - who is impressing in his first season in the Bundesliga.

Leipzig value the 19-year-old at around £87m - according to reports - with Richard Hughes and head coach Arne Slot preparing to move on from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.

Slot spoke earlier this week of wing being the hardest position to play in modern football and he also likes to talk up the importance of one-v-one quality.

Well it is clearly becoming apparent that Liverpool have exactly the kind of player Slot requires already on the books. And Rio Ngumoha is the one who can save Richard Hughes all that Diomande money in the summer transfer window.

Ngumoha is the main man

“Rio Ngumoha plays with freedom and positivity, and he is impactful,” Liverpool FA Cup winner Danny Murphy told BBC Sport after the Red beat Wolves on Friday night.

“The reality is, at 17, I do understand why he is used off the bench. In a big game against a resolute Wolves side to be the main man, the one who is kind of trying to make things happen. The chief instigator of all Liverpool's big moves, he didn't seem fazed by it.

“He has given the manager a little headache.”

That headache in the short term involves selecting either the teenager or Cody Gakpo for the game against Galatasaray on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

It’s likely the job will go once again to Gakpo - with Slot at pains in his post-match press conference to talk up the positive impact of the Dutchman in two Liverpool goals at Molineux.

But Slot finally considers Ngumoha to be improving, doing the right things and becoming a bonafide first-team option.

Rio deal can save £87m

“If you're then able already to impact it with some very good one-v-one situations, that is also what makes him special because there are not many players in the modern football that can take one-v-ones on,” Arne Slot said.

The England under-19 international completed three of his four attempted dribbles on Friday night, hitting two shots on target and creating a chance. He was also heavily involved in the goal which Andy Robertson supplied for Mohamed Salah.

Slot was also full of praise for Ngumoha in possession after criticising him for giving the ball away too much against the same opposition in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

Rio completed 30 of his 33 passes but also won six of nine ground duels and made three recoveries. Slot will value these characteristics just as much - if not more - than Ngumoha’s stunning individual quality.

This man–of-the-match display provided Ngumoha with his most impactful minutes as a Liverpool player thus far.

The next challenge will be to sustain it until the end of the season - and in the process remind Slot and Richard Hughes why he and not Diomande or anyone else is the starring Liverpool winger of the future.

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