Liverpool barely strengthened their senior squad in 2024. They only signed two players in total, and one of those - Giorgi Mamardashvili - won't even arrive at Anfield until next summer. However, on September 4, the Reds announced the addition of one of the most highly-rated under-age players in English football, Rio Ngumoha.
Even though the Premier League concluded that no rules were broken and the size of the compensation fee has yet to be determined, Chelsea were allegedly so enraged by the loss of the most exciting prospect to come out of their famed Cobham academy for years that they blocked scouts from Liverpool attending youth-team games. The Blues have denied that accusation, but their frustration is both real and understandable.
At just 16 years of age, Ngumoha is considered a potential generational talent, an outrageously skilful winger that former Chelsea captain John Terry says already "is - and will be - a top, top player."
And now he really has arrived. So impressed with what he's seen in training, Arne Slot's already handed the teenager handed his senior debut, which came in Liverpool's FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley.
