Liverpool’s Nigerian-born youngster, Rio Chima Ngumoha has received a huge tip to fill the spot vacated by Egyptian ace, Mohamed Salah at the Merseyside-based English Premier League club, Sports247 reports.
Although Ngumoha is still just only 17 years old, the youngster set many tongues wagging with remarkable milestones in the past season, almost got a spot in England’s squad to the ongoing FIFA World Cup and is considered a huge asset at Anfield.
Subsequently, the latest information out of The Reds’ camp indicates that the Nigerian-born lad, who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder, will be part of Liverpools’ senior squad’s pre-season tour of the USA in the coming week.
This means Ngumoha, who will clock 18 on August 29th, will have a huge opportunity to catch the eye of Liverpool’s new coach, Andoni Iraola, who is expected to try out several variations, especially as the club’s key players will not make the trip due to an extended summer break.
Many of the lads will also be allowed time out following their participations with various teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, thereby giving Ngumoha his chance to make an impact, as The Reds prepare to face Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United in their upcoming two-week camp.
They are also set to play international club friendlies against AS Monaco of France and Como of Italy at the start of August, during which Ngumoha will have enough time to prove himself as an ideal replacement for Salah.
The Egyptian star’s exit leaves a vacancy on Liverpool’s right flank, and Iraola could use this pre-season as a chance to test Ngumoha in that position, while noting that the youngster impressed during his breakout 2025/26 season.
With two goals scored by the 17-year-old in the EPL, one of which made him the club’s youngest-ever goal scorer, Iraola will hope to see the whiz-kid, who joined Liverpool from Chelsea in the summer of 2024, excel in the new gaffer’s plan for life after Salah.
Sports247 reports further that this opens a new chapter in the story of Ngumoha, whose exit from Chelsea caused an uproar and the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) tribunal eventually ordered on February 5th, 2026 that Liverpool must reimburse The Blues a minimum of £2.8m.
