Rio Ngumoha: The 'new Raheem Sterling' that Liverpool lured away from Chelsea and is already catching Arne Slot's eye

"The love [of the game] started at four or five, watching my brother player and it was like, 'What's this football?!'" Ngumoha recently explained in an interview with Lovell Soccer's Inside The Academy.

He started out playing cage football, "trying to nutmeg guys and get past them", and quickly caught the attention of scouts from all of England's top clubs because of scintillating skillset.

"Around six or seven, I was going through the pre-academy stage, going to many different academies and you just try to do your best," he said. "When they all want to sign you, you have to be humble, but it's a big thing, and for your family as well."

Liverpool were interested in signing Ngumoha even at that stage, but he ended up joining Chelsea instead.

The word was already out before Chelsea's Premier League Cup final win over Wolves in April that the Londoners had a potential superstar on their hands. However, Ngumoha's performance at Molineux made him the most coveted young player in England, with the then-15-year-old capping a dazzling display with a solo strike.

Manchester United went all out to sign Ngumoha, and he even spent some time with the Red Devils in June. However, it eventually emerged that the youngster, and his brother James, who is a big influence on Ngumoha, favoured a move to Liverpool as it was felt that there was a much clearer path to the first team at Anfield.

It's even been claimed that Liverpool beating Chelsea in last season's Carabao Cup final with seven academy graduates within their ranks played a part in Ngumoha's willingness to move to Merseyside, and there's undeniably a perception within the game that whereas the Blues are intent on accumulating as many expensive young talents as possible (and are particularly well-stocked in wide areas), the Reds remain more willing to give youth a chance.

Ngumoha has yet to score his first goal for Liverpool at any level, but he's racking up the assists and impressing everyone with his pace and dribbling skills, both in the Under-18s Premier League and the UEFA Youth League.

It also didn't take long for him to catch Slot's eye. By November, he was already training with the senior squad and, the following month, the versatile forward was named on the bench for the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Southampton at St Mary's.

Fast forward to January 2025 and the 16-year-old was starting on Liverpool's left wing for his professional debut against Accrington Stanley - the youngest player to ever start a game for the Reds.

Indeed, the teenager handled the occasion superbly well, showing plenty of encouraging moments with the ball at his feet. And what would have been particularly pleasing for Slot was the sight of Ngumoha not being afraid to try things, with the youngster often driving forward and committing defenders, while he rarely gave the ball away during an impressive 72 minutes on the pitch.

What immediately stands out about Ngumoha are his ridiculously fast feet. He's got a wonderful ability to shift the ball from one boot to the other at lightning speed before accelerating away from his man.

Put quite simply, he’s a nightmare for right-backs to come up against, so it's come as no surprise to see under-age teams doubling - and sometimes trebling - up on him.

Not that the extra attention bothers Ngumoha. On the contrary, he seems to thrive off it, as he's as fearless as he is direct.

This is not a kid that lacks ambition. When asked what he'd like to achieve in football on Inside the Academy, he replied, "I really believe I can win the Ballon d'Or one day. I want to be regarded as one of the best players to ever play football and be a legend of the game."

Anyone worried that Ngumoha might be a little too cocky should rest easy. Those that have worked with him describe him as a very sweet and very humble character with an excellent work ethic and a real willingness to listen to coaches and senior stars.

He already seems to have learned that immediately trying to take on his man isn't always the best option for the team, while he's also improved his decision-making in terms of when to release the ball.

Even more encouragingly, he's acutely aware that he needs to work on his weaker left foot. "You have to be two-footed nowadays," he acknowledged on Inside The Academy, "to make it unpredictable for the defender."

Ngumoha grew up idolising Lionel Messi and Neymar but, because of his size, speed, skillset and ability to play on either flank or as a No.10, he has been compared to Jadon Sancho, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling.

The latter has obviously seen something of himself in the teenager, as former Liverpool starlet Sterling was keen to impart some advice upon Ngumoha when they trained together at Chelsea last season.

"One time, he pulled me to the side and told me 'When you lose the ball, make sure you stay in the game, because at the top level everything happens so fast, so you have to be on it to do your thing,'" Ngumoha told Inside The Academy.

"It made me feel like I can do what he has done [in his career]. He is telling me that he can see what I am good at, and [coming] from someone like Raheem, I was like 'Wow!'"

Ngumoha clearly doesn't lack ambition or self-belief, while Liverpool are still ecstatic that they managed to convince him to leave Chelsea. However, nobody at the club wants to put such a young player under any great pressure. The party line is that he will be allowed to develop at his own pace.

It's clear, though, that Ngumoha is rated ridiculously highly by Slot - so much so that he's already been given his first-team debut long before he's even signed his first proper, professional contract with the Reds, which will happen when he turns 17 on August 29.

Indeed, it's already easy to see why Terry feels Ngumoha is destined to become a "top, top player". No matter the final fee, Chelsea's loss looks likely to prove Liverpool's considerable gain.