Mohamed Salah’s replacement or Bournemouth loan transfer? Rio Ngumoha’s future mapped out as Stan Collymore delivers verdict on 17-year-old wonderkid

Liverpool are preparing to bid farewell to their Egyptian King, with it revealed that two-time Premier League title winner Salah will be departing as a free agent in the summer. The 33-year-old forward is being released from the final year of his contract.

As a three-time PFA Player of the Year with four Golden Boots to his name, the modern day great day will leave big boots to be filled on Merseyside. The expectation is that more money will be invested in acquiring suitable cover on the right wing.

Ngumoha has, however, shown enough across 23 appearances this season - with two senior goals being recorded - to suggest that he can be the next Prince to inherit Salah’s crown. Whether that coronation takes place in a matter of months, or a number of years down the line, remains to be seen.

Asked if Ngumoha could save Liverpool time and money in the transfer market, with somebody needing to fill the void that Salah will leave behind, ex-Reds striker Collymore - speaking in association with Best Betting Bonuses - told GOAL: “He can save them a lot of time and money, but I don't think it would be necessarily as Salah's replacement. 

“I think that Liverpool have got to be very careful of pitching him like that because he's 17. Having said that, you look at the likes of Robbie Fowler, 17, 18, Michael Owen, 17, 18, [Steven] Gerrard, who was very young, [Jamie] Carragher, made his debut in a team that I played in. So Liverpool have history and tradition of blooding young players and them going on to become the next big thing from that age. 

“Where it's slightly different now than it was 20, 30 years ago, is of course social media and a million football accounts, I think you're almost swamping a young player. And young players like him will be on social media. I don't know whether he's visible or not, but he'll be on social media and he'll be aware of it. 

“It's that which I think it makes it very difficult for a player of 17, the likes of Max Dowman at Arsenal. When he scored that goal the other week, it was decent, but the way it was portrayed, it was the greatest goal that had ever been and he'd given Arsenal the title. Once you're starting to deal with those narratives as a 17-year-old, rather than ‘wonderkid breaks on the scene’, it heaps constant, day-in, day-out, 24-7 pressure on young shoulders. And I think Liverpool will be very aware of that. 

“I think Liverpool will look to replace Salah with a functioning right forward, right of a three, while simultaneously trying to find in pre-season where is Ngumoha’s best position. Is it to the right? Is it to the left? Is it down the middle? And they'll give him games and they'll look at him in training and they'll settle on a position for him. But I think that they will detach the Salah from the Ngumoha thing because I just think it would be too much pressure.”

Collymore went on to say of what the next transfer window could bring for England U19 international Ngumoha, who joined Liverpool from Chelsea in 2024: “I can see them spending modestly. Well, they might spend big. They might think they need to spend massive money on a Salah replacement. 

“I think it's a bit like managers - when you've got somebody that is so great, Forest with [Brian] Clough, you actually bring in the opposite. Frank Clark was the opposite. He was very quiet, very down to earth, he wasn't one for soundbites. He was: ‘I don't need to do anything, you're all very good players that Brian Clough brought in. I just need to do little bits behind the scenes’. And that's what he did. And I think that that's the same when it comes to replacing legendary players. 

“You buy somebody for, in Liverpool's case, 30, 40 million that can adequately do the job. But it's quite obvious that they're there not to replace Salah. They're there to do a job for Liverpool. And then in the background, somebody like Ngumoha can find his feet. And eventually, if he does as well as we think he can do, he'll find his place in the first team. He'll start to play regular games instead of FA Cup games and the odd League Cup game. 

“Or they might turn around and say, ‘not quite ready to play 30 games yet, we're going to send him out on loan’. And he could end up going to Palace for a spell or somewhere like that to find his feet. I think he's much better than a Championship loan, so I could certainly see a Bournemouth, a full season at Bournemouth, who are very good by the way, down by the seaside, much less pressure with a very good coach, with very good players, might be the time for him to then grow as a youngster. 

“He's going to get physically bigger, physically better, hone his skills. They'll give him game time and then he comes back a year later. I think there are several options that Liverpool will consider before they pull the ripcord on Mo Salah's replacement.”

Ngumoha signed his first professional contract with Liverpool in September 2025. By that point he had already become the youngest player to represent the Reds in FA Cup and Champions League competition.

There have been calls, during a testing season for Liverpool as a collective, for him to see more regular game time - potentially at Salah’s expense. They started on opposite flanks in the Reds’ last Premier League fixture against Fulham, and were both on the scoresheet as Ngumoha registered his first goal at Anfield in a 2-0 win. Salah, meanwhile, has taken his overall tally of efforts to 256 - with those strikes being spread across 437 appearances in a memorable nine-year spell.