Arne Slot might be ready to place loads of religion in a single teenager at Liverpool this season, judging by experiences over the previous 24 hours.
The Reds’ ahead line has modified significantly over the summer season, as a result of devastating lack of Diogo Jota and the following gross sales of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, with Hugo Ekitike the one attacking addition thus far.
The Frenchman is considered one of simply 4 out-and-out senior forwards at Anfield, and the Merseysiders might viably submit one other supply for Alexander Isak this week, though the top coach doesn’t appear overly perturbed by the depth at his disposal within the ultimate third of the pitch.
Slot happy with attacking depth at Liverpool
As per Paul Joyce for The Occasions on Sunday night time, Slot believes he has different choices who might be utilised in assault, name-checking Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong as auxiliary forwards if required.
Though the Liverpool boss didn’t explicitly point out Rio Ngumoha, the report claims that the 16-year-old ‘sparkled in pre-season’ to the extent that the membership have indicated they would like to create a pathway for him than signal both Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain) or Malick Fofana (Lyon).
Ngumoha appears able to make an influence for Liverpool this time period
{The teenager} was certainly a standout participant for the Reds in pre-season, scoring elegant solo targets in opposition to Yokohama F. Marinos and Athletic Bilbao and – within the phrases of Sky Sports activities reporter Patrick Rowe – ‘staking a significant declare to be firmly within the first-team image’ within the 2025/26 marketing campaign.
Ngumoha was named on the bench for the Neighborhood Protect and the Premier League opener in opposition to Bournemouth, however didn’t function in both recreation, and his solely aggressive senior look to this point stays his FA Cup outing in opposition to Accrington Stanley in January (Transfermarkt).
Nonetheless, he’s proven a rare self-confidence for such a younger participant in a first-team setting, and it appears inevitable that he’ll be handed a top-flight debut in the course of the approaching months.
It’s unlikely to come back within the high-stakes fixtures in opposition to Newcastle and Arsenal over the following week, however he might be launched if Liverpool are in a cushty successful place, much like how Mikel Arteta introduced on 15-year-old Max Dowman with the Gunners 4-0 to the great in opposition to Leeds on Saturday.
With solely per week remaining within the switch window and Richard Hughes’ consideration seemingly targeted on potential offers for Isak and Marc Guehi, it’s onerous to think about the Reds making a late try to signal Barcola or Fofana.
As a substitute, Slot is about to belief in Ngumoha to make an impression on the primary crew in a aggressive setting. From what we’ve seen of {the teenager} thus far, any such religion can be effectively positioned.
