Liverpool’s summer was dominated by blockbuster signings, but their early-season story has been shaped just as much by a willingness to put faith in youth.
After winning the Premier League in Arne Slot’s first campaign in charge, the Reds entered the transfer market aggressively.
Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike all arrived for significant fees.
Wirtz became a British record signing before that figure was later eclipsed by the deadline-day arrival of Isak from Newcastle.
Outgoings also caught the eye, with Luis Díaz moving to Bayern Munich, Darwin Núñez to Al-Hilal, and academy graduate Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.
Despite these changes, the champions began the season with a 4-2 win at home to Bournemouth, a thrilling 3-2 victory at Newcastle, and a hard-fought 1-0 win over Arsenal.
After the international break, they edged Burnley with a stoppage-time winner before Virgil van Dijk repeated the trick in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid.
These dramatic moments have underscored Slot’s insistence that Liverpool are building not just for today but for the future.
In that spirit, when 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha came off the bench in stoppage time at St James’ Park to score the 100th-minute winner, it offered a glimpse of what may lie ahead.
Safe to say, Liverpool are developing their own version of Real Madrid’s number one star.
Chasing Bellingham and what he went on to achieve
Liverpool’s pursuit of Jude Bellingham is well documented.
Before Real Madrid secured his signature for £100m, the Anfield hierarchy believed they were frontrunners.
Their pitch to the then-Borussia Dortmund midfielder was built on a promise that he would be the centrepiece of a new era.
Bellingham’s story is well known by now, but still worth highlighting to understand the scale of what Liverpool were chasing.
He was Birmingham City’s youngest first-team player when he made his senior debut in August 2019 at just 16 years and 38 days.
A year later, he joined Dortmund, immediately becoming their youngest goalscorer.
Across 132 appearances, he lifted the DFB-Pokal, won the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season award in 2022/23, and established himself as one of the finest all-round midfielders in Europe.
Real Madrid acted decisively in the summer of 2023, and Bellingham’s impact was instant.
He won La Liga and the Champions League in his first season and was voted La Liga’s Player of the Season.
His influence at international level has been just as pronounced, already representing England at three major tournaments. Statistically, his brilliance is clear.
Matches Played
192
Goals
44
Assists
31
Progressive Carries
425
Progressive Passes
986
He ranks in the 97th percentile compared to positional peers in Europe for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.29) and 97th percentile for assists (0.29), while contributing 3.60 shot-creating actions per 90.
He drives play with 2.45 progressive carries per 90 (91st percentile) and is elite in one-on-one situations, completing 1.69 successful take-ons per 90 (98th percentile).
These numbers underline why Bellingham was so coveted – a midfielder with the productivity of a forward and the leadership of a veteran. His transfer value sums it all up; he’s the most valuable Englishman in the world.
Liverpool missed out, but they may already have someone in their ranks capable of following a similar trajectory.
Liverpool's own Bellingham
When a certain teenager by the name of Ngumoha fired home in the 100th minute at St James’ Park, he didn’t just become the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool’s history – he announced himself as one of England’s brightest prospects.
Earlier this week, he came on for Wirtz in the Champions League, becoming the second-youngest English player to feature in the competition (17 years, 19 days).
Only Jack Wilshere debuted earlier, while Jude Bellingham sits fifth on that list.
Ngumoha’s rise has been rapid. A product of Chelsea’s academy, he joined Liverpool in 2024 and was quickly fast-tracked into first-team training.
He featured in the squad for an EFL Cup tie against Southampton before making his professional debut in January against Accrington Stanley.
That day, he became the youngest Liverpool player to appear in the FA Cup and the youngest to ever start a first-team game for the club.
Now valued at £8m, via Transfermarkt, the 17-year-old has already been capped at youth level for England.
His skillset is different to Bellingham’s – a skilful and creative forward rather than a midfielder – but the parallels are hard to ignore, notably described by the Secret Scout as “one of the best young wingers in Europe.”
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Both players broke records as teenagers, both thrived under early responsibility, and both exude the kind of fearlessness that separates prodigies from prospects.
Liverpool will be cautious not to overload him too soon, but the signs are clear.
Slot’s willingness to use Ngumoha in high-pressure games shows the level of faith being placed in him.
Just as Bellingham went from Birmingham to Dortmund to Madrid, Liverpool hope Ngumoha’s path runs from academy talent to Premier League star – only this time, the journey happens entirely in red.