Liverpool staff believe they have a bright prospect in their U18 squad next season

Last season, the likes of Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley showed just how much quality Liverpool have in their youth ranks.

With the first team squad and academy now integrated into the same building at the AXA Training Centre, the step from hot prospect to first team starter has never been shorter.

With Liverpool also enjoying a recruitment slot to add players to their youth squad from other clubs, there seems to be a talent pool currently open in Kirkby.

Liverpool excited about Rio Ngumoha

Quansah and Bradley weren’t the only two players to make a name for themselves in Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield.

Jayden Danns was another who rose through the ranks to announce himself in the world of football.

Danns had started the season with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s U18 side before establishing himself in the U21s and then the first team.

That journey was one that Ben Doak also flew through in 2022/23, showing that there is a clear path straight from the youngest age group to the game for Arne Slot.

The latest Liverpool player who is apparently hoping he can progress from the U18s to the senior team in a short space of time is imminent new signing Rio Ngumoha.

READ MORE: Liverpool set to lose former Everton captain’s son from their academy

Liverpool are confident of signing Ngumoha from Chelsea in what is widely seen as a huge coup for the academy.

And speaking on The Redmen TV, journalist Paul Gorst says Liverpool people have “high hopes” that the 15-year-old can be a star of the future. For now, though, he’s headed to the U18s.

“Talking to people at Liverpool this week, they think he’s one of the best around for his age and they have high hopes for him,” Gorst says of Ngumoha.

“They are looking to introduce him to the under-18s this season, see how he goes. But, like all players, they will take a measured approach, not launch him into the seniors any time soon.”

Liverpool are paving the way for Rio Ngumoha

If Ngumoha is as good as people think he is, then Liverpool could sign a future first team player this summer.

Part of the reason the teenager wanted to join the Reds is because of the examples of other players coming up to play in the senior team.

This is a real feather in Liverpool’s cap, but it also signals that they need to carve out the same path for Ngumoha.

Obviously, nothing is a given in football and whether Ngumoha develops is largely up to himself.

But if the experiences of Danns, Doak and many others have taught us anything, it’s that these young people will have a chance if they prove themselves. Exciting times ahead.