Rio Ngumoha may not have been given the game time many Liverpool supporters had hoped so far this season, but the 17-year-old has wowed team-mates.
That is according to Curtis Jones, who told JD Sports that the young winger is the most skilful player in the Liverpool squad.
“I’ll probably say Rio, you know,” he said when asked to pick one of his team-mates.
“You see him every day in training. I remember the first day when he came in I was like ‘woah’. He’s just shown it every day.”
It can certainly be argued that Ngumoha has not been used as many expected following his outstanding run of form throughout pre-season.
Liverpool’s decision not to sign a replacement for Luis Diaz upon his move to Bayern Munich came with a desire not to block the youngster’s immediate pathway to the first team.
Liverpool minutes tracker: 2025/26 first-team stats for players aged 19 & under
| Name | Position | Age | Total Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Ngumoha | Left Winger | 17 | 225′ |
| Trey Nyoni | Central Midfield | 18 | 182′ |
| Giovanni Leoni | Centre-Back | 19 | 81′ |
| Kieran Morrison | Right Winger | 19 | 67′ |
| Wellity Lucky | Centre-Back | 19 | 23′ |
| Jayden Danns | Centre-Forward | 19 | 15′ |
| Amara Nallo | Centre-Back | 19 | 12′ |
| Trent Kone-Doherty | Left Winger | 19 | 4′ |
* Data via Transfermarkt. Includes all senior first-team appearances.
That came with the likes of Real Madrid‘s Rodrygo, Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola and Lyon’s Malick Fofana all linked with moves to Anfield.
Ngumoha has so far made nine appearances this season, with two starts – both in the Carabao Cup – and one goal, clocking just 225 minutes on the pitch in total.
Trey Nyoni, the 18-year-old midfielder, is the only other regular senior outfielder with fewer minutes for Liverpool so far this season (182).
Slot has instead placed a heavier emphasis on Cody Gakpo as first choice on the left wing while Florian Wirtz has been deployed there in the Dutchman’s recent absence.
But unlike Nyoni, who has also played the full 90 minutes on four occasions for the U19s in the UEFA Youth League and once for the U21s in the league, Ngumoha has only played one behind-closed-doors friendly at academy level this season.
That could present the risk of his progress stagnating without regular game time, with little chance of a mid-season loan following injury to Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah‘s departure to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking at the end of last year, Slot outlined his belief that Ngumoha was not being underused, while explaining why he was not featuring consistently.
Who are the youngest Premier League players with the most senior minutes in the 2025/26 season?
| Rank | Player | Club | Age | Senior Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio Ngumoha | Liverpool | 17 | 225′ |
| 2 | Max Dowman | Arsenal | 16 | 143′ |
| 3 | Joel Drakes-Thomas | Crystal Palace | 16 | 97′ |
| 4 | Bradley Burrowes | Aston Villa | 17 | 16′ |
| 5 | Bendito Mantato | Man United | 17 | 15′ |
* All first-team club competitions. Data accurate as of Jan 6, 2026.
“I think he has the most minutes of all 17-year-olds in the Premier League. So that tells you how much playing time he gets, how special that already is for a 17-year-old,” Slot said.
“That also tells you something about his quality, because it’s not completely normal for a 17-year-old already to have as much playing time as he had.
“But it also tells you something about the availability in those areas…if he would be a player in a different position he would probably have even more chance to come in.”
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