Rio NGUMOHA is only 16 years old. But that’s why it is impossible to ignore in Liverpool

While several senior players from Liverpool found their contact and their technique deserting them on the cutting surface of the Nissan stadium, Rio Ngumoha showed them how it is.

Not for the first time during this pre-season, the 16-year-old was the player of whom everyone spoke to follow another brilliant cameo who understood the goal which sealed the 3-1 victory of Liverpool on Yokohama F Marinos.

In just 26 minutes, the youngster illuminated the match in Tokyo, part of the tiring defense of the hosts, just as he did in previous matches against Preston North End, Stoke City and Milan.

It is a testimony to the way he is seen and the impact he had this summer that Liverpool does not consider the left wing as an area of their team which must be reinforced, even after the sale of Luis Diaz in Bayern Munich.

Cody Gakpo is the established left bird, while Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike could also play it. But the development of Ngumoha saw him forced his way in Slot’s thought for a permanent place in his first team team and potentially saving the club on the transfer market. There is no desire to block the Ngumoha path towards senior football.

So how did he do it?

When Ngumoha chose to leave Chelsea for Liverpool last year, the London Club was furious that they lost one of the most brilliant talents in England. Since his arrival, he has shown why there was such disappointment in western London, impressive the staff of senior and academic coaches of Liverpool in training sessions and matches for various age groups.

His surprise start against Accrington Stanley in the third round of the FA Cup in January exhibited him to Liverpool supporters at the level of the first team and rewarded him for the rapid progress he made.

His 72-minute performance in Anfield that day was full of quick feet and excitement. The League Two team quickly doubled on him and the only missing piece to his performance was final – completely normal for a 16 -year -old who made his debut.

However, when he returned to the configuration of the under -21s for the rest of the campaign, the improvement of his final product has become an accent point. If an indication was necessary on the way it happens, it has so far has two goals and help in his four pre-season appearances.

His goal in Yokohama illustrated how dangerous he can be with the ball at his feet and his space to meet.

With Liverpool on the counterattack, Ngumoha advanced near the road line and showed his confidence to keep the ball rather than using one of his teammates, jumping the challenge of Kosei Suwama and shooting beyond Ryoya Kimura.

The smile on the face of Mohamed Salah in the moments after the lens still highlighted the impact he had. Salah and other members of the senior team, including Andy Robertson, helped Ngumoha settle at the level of the first team, offering advice when possible.

There is intrepidity to everything he does, but he couple him with quality. It is not a young dribbling in the blind alleys to try to impress; It is a winger tormenting the defenders with a deception, a rhythm and a goal.

From the moment he was appointed to the XI of departure against Preston, Ngumoha had a goal: get on the ball and lead to his opponent. There was a constant threat to Deepdale and the source of several key chances, including the opening goal of Conor Bradley.

He is not quite a chalk winger on the boots, but Ngumoha remains high and wide to give him space to find by teammates. This allows him to strengthen the speed and attack the defender, putting them on the back.

As shown in the example below, when it is around the opposition penalty box, it uses its control, agility and acceleration close to exploding opponents. On this occasion, he shaped to enter inside before going to the signature. His cross was intercepted with Darwin Nunez ready to jump.

A similar movement almost led to a goal against Milan, when he used this speed for the bad foot Fikayo Tomori and triggers an effort on the goal that was ready by Mike Maignan.

The connection it has established with Trey Nyoni was also exposed, and the pair is completed in the field.

When you play together, the pair is frequently combined with uni-Twos around the opposition area, with Ngumoha capable of doing dangerous shopping in the box, and Nyoni has the quality to choose the return pass.

He almost climbed the match sheet earlier against Yokohama by binding Nyoni. Again, Ngumoha used his agility to work an opportunity to shoot, Entering a position similar to the place where he scored his goal against Stoke, But his efforts were saved.

This moment, however, also recalled that Ngumoha is a young man with a lot to learn, in particular with regard to his decision -making. While he managed to shoot, he could have placed the ball at Alexis Mac Allister or Curtis Jones to create a better scorer opportunity.

It was not lost on Slot when he addressed the media after the match. “There was also a moment in the game where he should have faced MacCa (Mac Allister) or Curtis (Jones),” he said. “So, (there was) also to learn games for him. But if you are 16 years old and you can have an impact on the game as he did, it is really worth a compliment.

“Rio has again shown the quality it has and that’s good for us because we have a lot of very good players. But passing very good players to the academy is always useful and always gives energy to a team too.”

Until now, Ngumoha’s most encouraging performance has been against Milan when he clashed against Tomori, who is an experienced high level defender who has strength and speed.

The 27-year-old man was right for the first exchanges, but as half-time advanced, the NGUMOHA relex allowed him to start taking over the defender, including for his help for Dominik Szoboszlai.

His fast feet forced Tomori in Backpedal and created space to cross the ball. While the low delivery was blocked, Ngumoha did not precipitate his next movement, playing the sensitive pass in Szoboszlai, which produced an excellent finish.

Since it was a summer without a major international tournament, Slot was able to work with most of his first team team from the moment the pre-season began. This meant that fewer young people made up the tour team than usual, so it was a statement to the impression that Ngumoha and his compatriot Nyoni had made them were taken during the trip.

During the first weeks and on tour, the pair continued to impress the coaches of the first team with their attitude and their talent, and they seized their opportunity in the matches. There is a feeling that they could become permanent lighting in the team, which would allow other young people such as Tyler Morton and Ben Doak to move on without any concerns about the depth of the team in these areas.

Ngumoha’s potentially more important role this season is more than anyone who would have reasonably supposed to expect a month ago. He must always be managed carefully and expectations should remain realistic.

But the problem is that Ngumoha shows why he is one of the hottest perspectives in European football. It may be impossible to ignore.

(Top Photo: Kenta Harada / Getty Images)