After showing glimpses of brilliance under Arne Slot last season, Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha still might not be playing as much as he'd be hoping for under new manager Andoni Iraola.
So far this season, the 18-year-old has made a total of eight appearances across all competitions, four of which have been starts largely aided by injuries to Cody Gakpo and Bradley Barcola not yet being ready to start just after he signed for the Reds from Paris Saint-Germain.
As things stand, Ngumoha's contract runs through the summer of 2028 but it's not entirely clear what his future has in store on Merseyside. Iraola has a preference of playing Gakpo, Barcola, and Florian Wirtz behind Alexander Isak and has also been using new signing Victor Muñoz, who scored his second goal of the season in Liverpool's 2-1 win at Brentford over the weekend.
Arsenal have previously been linked and could move if Ngumoha were to look for a change if he doesn't get the minutes he's looking for at Anfield.
Rio Ngumoha On Liverpool Contract Talks
After Liverpool's vital win over Brentford that saw them climb to fifth place in the Premier League table, Ngumoha commented on his contract situation with the club, not wanting to dig too deep into the details that may, or may not, be going on behind the scenes.
"It's all with my agent now. I think it is all going well. I am not too sure. I just let the football do the talking, I enjoy playing and all of that is in the back of my mind. I just play for play for Liverpool and hopefully I can carry on doing well," Ngumoha told the Daily Mail's Lewis Steele after the win at the Gtech Community Stadium (via Fabrizio Romano).
Reading Between The Lines
With what he's said, Ngumoha's comments could be open to interpretation. On one hand, he is getting appearances and is even able to make an impact off the bench if he doesn't start as he showed at Brentford on Saturday, but will he want to be in an environment where's he guaranteed more regular minutes.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it's difficult to say that Ngumoha still would've started against LASK if Gakpo was fully fit and it's telling that Iraola only gave him a 15-minute cameo in the 3-0 loss to Manchester City right after the international break. Of course, tactics changed when Ryan Gravenberch was sent off midway through the second half, but Iraola still had enough faith to start Lewis Koumas up top for such a momentous occasion with Alexander Isak not being fully fit.
From Iraola's perspective, he'll be hoping that Rio is able to start getting involved with goal contributions as the youngster has yet to score or assist so far this season, but making an impact off the bench like he did at Brentford is also a step in the right direction. Even as Gakpo returns to full fitness, they'll be chances for Ngumoha as Liverpool still push across the Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup, and FA Cup.
