Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rio Chima Ngumoha [1] | ||
Date of birth | 29 August 2008 | ||
Place of birth | Newham, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Liverpool | ||
Number | 73 | ||
Youth career | |||
2016–2024 | Chelsea | ||
2024– | Liverpool | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2025– | Liverpool | 1 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2023 | England U15 | 4 | (2) |
2023–2024 | England U16 | 9 | (2) |
2024– | England U17 | 11 | (2) |
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:06, 25 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:21, 26 May 2025 (UTC) |
Rio Chima Ngumoha (born 29 August 2008) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool. [3]
Ngumoha joined the Chelsea academy aged eight and scored in Chelsea's 3–1 win over Wolves in the U17 Premier League Cup final in April 2024. [4] [5]
Ngumoha joined Liverpool in the summer of 2024. [6] [7] [8]
In the autumn of the 2024–25 season, Ngumoha was called-up to train with the Liverpool first team squad by manager Arne Slot. [9] [10] [11] He was named amongst the match day substitutes for Liverpool's EFL Cup tie against Southampton on 18 December 2024. [12] On 11 January 2025, Ngumoha made his professional debut as a starter in Liverpool's 4–0 win against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup. He became the youngest Liverpool player to appear in the FA Cup aged 16 years, 135 days and at the same time became the youngest player to start a first-team game in the club's history, [13] before being substituted off for Jayden Danns in the 71st-minute. [14]
Ngumoha was included in the Liverpool squad for the July 2025 pre-season tour to Hong Kong and Japan. [15] He featured for the club in pre-season friendlies, being praised for his performances, getting two goals and two assists across his four games. [16] On 25 August, Ngumoha made his Premier League debut as an added-time substitute for Cody Gakpo and scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time, securing a 3–2 away win over Newcastle United and becoming the youngest goalscorer in club history. [17] [18] The goal also surpassed Darwin Núñez's winning goal against Nottingham Forest in March 2024 by a minute to become the club's latest game-winning goal in the Premier League. [19]
Born in England, Ngumoha is of Nigerian and Guadeloupean descent. Rio holds both Nigerian and French nationalities from his parents. [20] [21] He made his England under-15 and England U16 debuts in 2023. [3] In October 2024 he played for England U17. [22] He was called-up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. [23]
Described as a “skillful” and “creative forward" Ngumoha was included in The Guardian ’s 'Next Generation 2024: 20 of the best talents at Premier League clubs' series. [24]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Liverpool | 2024–25 [25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2025–26 [26] | Premier League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Career total | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Chelsea