Liverpool snapped up wonderkid, 16, from under Man Utd's noses with help of Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool snapped up wonderkid, 16, from under Man Utd's noses with help of Jurgen Klopp

Rio Ngumoha is proving to be one of the most exciting youngsters in world football, and it's no surprise why the teenager fielded conversations with the sport's elite before signing with Liverpool

Rio Ngumoha arrived at Liverpool the same summer Jurgen Klopp departed the club after nine years (Image: Getty Images)

Rio Ngumoha wasn't short of offers when deciding to sign for Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp indirectly playing a key role in his arrival at Anfield. The 16-year-old signed for the Reds last summer after spending eight years in Chelsea's academy.

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Regarded as one of the Blues' most promising players, he was offered a scholarship by the Premier League side. But he opted to join Liverpool's academy, where he initially joined the club's Under-18s squad.

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Over a year since his signing, the teenager has emerged as one of the country's most highly-rated talents thanks to his exploits in pre-season this summer with the Premier League champions. With four goals and assists to his name in six games, he capped off the club's season preparations with a stunning solo goal in a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao on Monday in front of fans at Anfield.

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Realising that Ngumoha's ceiling is otherworldly, Liverpool supporters would certainly gain extra satisfaction knowing he rejected Manchester United last summer thanks to the work the Reds had already done to secure his future.

According to The Athletic, the winger had held talks with the Red Devils last June, who laid out their plans for him if he decided to leave Chelsea. While pushing for his signing, United chiefs conceded defeat, believing they were behind Liverpool in the chase for his signature.

While it was Arne Slot at the helm when Ngumoha arrived, credit has been handed to Klopp over the role he may have played in the forward's decision to switch clubs.

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Jurgen Klopp fielded numerous youngsters in Liverpool's EFL Cup final victory over Chelsea last year (Image: PA)

The German – who left the club last summer after announcing his decision to leave earlier that season – was known for his penchant for bringing through youngsters into the first-team at Liverpool. The Daily Mail reported that Ngumoha's decision to join Liverpool was motivated by Klopp's methods of integrating academy players into his squad.

The Reds' Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea last year was directly pointed to as an important factor, as Klopp fielded six Liverpool academy graduates at Wembley. While Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Bradley started the game, Jayden Danns, Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jarell Quansah all came on.

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Prior to his Liverpool move, Ngumoha had made just one appearance for Chelsea's U21 team and had yet to make his professional debut. He's since done exactly that with the Reds, where he started in their 4-0 win against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup earlier this year and has played a starring role in pre-season.

Rio Ngumoha has been tipped for great things long before his move to Liverpool (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The winger discussed his experience playing with the first-team this summer while opening up on the influence Mohamed Salah has had on himself and the rest of the young players at Liverpool. "Training with the best team in the world; the players that you get to train with, you learn from them and you really test yourself against them," he said in his first Liverpoolfc.com interview this past week.

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"It has been very good. Patience is key. I don’t want to rush anything. I’m young. Just keep working hard, pushing hard and just showing the manager what I can really do, and affect the team. They really help the young players – especially me, Trey [Nyoni].

"They help us really settle in. [Mohamed] Salah was one of my role models growing up obviously, so it’s really big [to be] learning from him. Everyone is really professional and you can see why they’re at the top. They’re always thinking about football, recovery, little things like eating right. So, [you] definitely can learn a lot from them."

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