Liverpool are reportedly ‘confident’ of agreeing a new contract for one of the most highly-rated youngsters at the club.
Having turned 18 at the end of August, Rio Ngumoha is now eligible to be handed a long-term deal and sizeable pay rise to reflect his status as a first-team regular at Anfield, as reported by Paul Joyce for The Times in recent weeks.The teenager has been the subject of rumoured interest from Arsenal of late, although Graeme Bailey claimed that there’s already an agreement ‘in principle’ for the young winger to extend his stay on Merseyside, where he’s currently contracted to 2028.
Liverpool ‘confident’ of securing new deal for NgumohaJournalist Pete O’Rourke has now indicated that there’s a growing ‘optimism’ from all parties concened that Liverpool will agree a new contract for Ngumoha, who’s believed to be content with his prospect of regular game-time under Andoni Iraola.Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast for Football Insider, he said: “Obviously Liverpool are desperate to keep hold of Ngumoha;
and the player himself, I understand, is happy at Liverpool as well and is set to get regular starts this season.“When you get top young players like this, they’re always going to attract interest from other clubs, but Liverpool are confident that his long-term future will be at Anfield… there is optimism on both sides that they can get this deal agreed.”Rio Ngumoha in action for Liverpool, pictured from behind(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)Want more Empire of the Kop coverage?
Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustNgumoha should get plenty of game-time for LiverpoolWith the teenager contracted for two more seasons as it stands, there isn’t a pressing urgency to sort out a new deal for him, although Arsenal’s reported interest might jolt the Liverpool hierarchy into affirmative action.The Daily Mail‘s Lewis Steele highlighted in recent days that Anfield chiefs regard Ngumoha as a ‘future world-beater’ and are determined to keep hold of him, a point that O’Rourke has reaffirmed in his update on the winger.
Competition for wide attacking berths under Iraola has heightened with the arrivals of Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz, and the resurgence of Cody Gakpo, although the 18-year-old has still played from the start in three of our seven matches so far this season and featured in another two.With Liverpool facing into a hectic run of fixtures after this international break, Ngumoha should feel confident of getting plenty of minutes so long as he stays fit, especially given the head coach’s preference to rotate his wingers frequently.
The more that the electrifying youngster plays, the likelier it seems that he’d be ready to commit his long-term future to the Reds. Securing his services for several more years would represent a major coup by the Anfield hierarchy, and hopefully they can do so over the next few months.FacebookWhatsAppTwitterRedditEmailShareMore Stories Liverpool Pete O’Rourke Rio NgumohaLive CommentsWelcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
