Rio Ngumoha has an expected date for FIRST Liverpool FC game
New Liverpool wonderkid Rio Ngumoha is in line for his debut in a Red shirt this weekend. The date could be set.
The Athletic reports that Rio Ngumoha trained with Liverpool's senior side this week. The majority of that team is away on international duty, of course, and Arne Slot took the opportunity to have a look at some of the Reds' younger players.
Ngumoha was among them, fresh after completing his move from Chelsea's academy. The teenager has all the potential in the world - or at least, that's the belief at both Chelsea and Liverpool.
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John Terry recently echoed that sentiment. “This boy is and will be a top player," he wrote on Instagram, reacting to the news that Ngumoha was moving to Liverpool.
The hype is very, very real, then, and it appears we won't have to wait long before seeing Ngumoha in action.
Rio Ngumoha set for Liverpool debut
Ngumoha is set to make his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt this weekend. The Athletic suggests he's in line to face Blackburn Rovers for the Under 18s on Saturday in a home game.
It's a particularly exciting one, given the hype around Ngumoha. Yes, he's starting at a low level but this is exactly how Liverpool treated Harvey Elliott - and he arrived with senior experience.
The expectation will be for Ngumoha to quickly prove he's better than the U18 level and move on to the Under 21s before long. Hopefully, he's knocking on that door before 2025 comes around.
And from there, we can all start getting excited about potential senior debuts. It remains to be seen if Slot will be as trigger-happy with those as Jurgen Klopp was (we'd actually expect Klopp to have debuted Ngumoha by the end of the season) but the opportunity will be there for the new wonderkid to make senior squads.
First things first, though, and that means a debut appearance for Liverpool at youth level. Saturday should be one to watch.