Rio Ngumoha discovered from an early age that he was destined for the the fast-track treatment in football and at first he didn’t exactly like it.
“I think I was six, maybe five,” recalls Ngumoha. “I was playing for a local team. I remember I got an assist and then next thing you know, I could hear my mum on the side saying well done, and then they started saying that I was playing with older players. I just panicked and I started crying and then I walked off the pitch because I was so scared because everyone was older than me.”
It took this shock to the system to understand the precocious talent that he was. “I realised after I could definitely have competed with them, so I’ve toughened up a bit.” Punching above his weight went on to become the norm for Ngumoha; it still is. At 18, he is the youngest player in the senior England squad, picked by Thomas Tuchel for what is already his third camp this month.
No longer is Ngumoha stunned by his rate of progress. It’s what the Liverpool starlet has come to expect from himself; he said last month that he “definitely had the confidence and the belief” to think he could “wear an England shirt at 18”. But such confidence didn’t come without his humble beginnings, grinding in the cages, where he would visualise himself one day representing his country. “I feel like if you don't visualise anything or you don't dream big enough, then you might not ever achieve it,” he asserts.
Made in the Manor (Park), Ngumoha grew up in a particularly rough part of east London. “Everyone knows it’s a tough area, Newham especially,” he says. There are darker avenues he could have ended up going down, but those around him – chiefly his mum Liz and his older brother James – ensured he stayed on the right track.
“I think the people around me and all my friends and family made sure I wasn't a part of anything that was too rough, or just to keep me on my toes really. And I had football, which is a top, top escape route for things like crime and stuff. So I think I'm just having my brother there, my mum, all my friends supporting me. They just knew to leave me out of all of that stuff so I can get to the top.”
James especially was integral to his footballing rise. “My brother, he's been a massive part of my journey,” Ngumoha adds. “He saw the talent in me from when I was like five years old, which is crazy to say. He’s my agent as well now. He just wants the best for me, and he's really supportive.”
There were things that family couldn’t necessarily help him with, though. His commute to and from Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, which before the days of the Elizabeth line required him to take two trains and two tubes – a journey that touched two hours – was a daunting and taxing one for a child to take on a near-daily basis.
“I think sometimes going from school to get the train is a bit tough, especially coming back late around 11pm. For a schoolkid, it isn't easy,” he reflects. “But that's a sacrifice you've got to make sometimes to reach the top.”
Chelsea were hoping that continued sacrifice would reap mutual rewards for both club and player. Academy coaches felt he could win the Ballon d’Or – à la Harry Kane, his international captain – wearing the blue shirt. But those Chelsea-centric dreams were dashed when Ngumoha made the bold decision to swap Cobham – and the reputation for youth development that comes with it – for Kirkby, joining rivals Liverpool in 2024, aged 16.
The nature of his departure upset Chelsea, and Liverpool have since been ordered to pay at least £2.8m in compensation by a tribunal. That could rise to a maximum of £6.8m with various add-ons. Either way, Liverpool are laughing. And Ngumoha has no regrets.
“I feel like I needed a new challenge,” he explains. “I feel like if I stayed at Chelsea... not saying that I wouldn't have got to the first team as quickly, because I believe in my ability, but I feel like Liverpool just gave me a new pathway.
“The plan that they set for me was straightforward really. For me, it was a no-brainer going to Liverpool, and they just said if I prove myself, because they know how much ability I had, then they know that I would definitely be a first-team player and definitely a star for them in the making.”
After a breakout season last term, Ngumoha is now a Liverpool regular under Andoni Iraola and is treasured by the fanbase, which he describes as the best in the world. “I think going to Liverpool so far has been the right choice.”
Ngumoha, the man, finds himself on a collision course for superstardom with club and country. And he could make his first England start in the coming days.
But he won’t do it without keeping those who moulded him close. His mum and brother have moved with him to Merseyside, leaving life in London behind. They will be constants in the shaping of a player who could become one of the truly great English footballers.
