Ngumoha 2.0: Liverpool plotting 2026 swoop for coveted teenage starlet; final decision due soon

Liverpool have amassed an impressive track record for snapping up prodigious talents from other British clubs in recent years, and they appear to have their sights set on adding one more to the list.

Since 2019, the Reds have acquired the likes of Harvey Elliott (Fulham), Ben Gannon-Doak (Celtic), Trey Nyoni (Leicester) and Rio Ngumoha (Chelsea) whilst they were still minors, with all four going on to play for the first team and the latter two part of Arne Slot’s current squad at Anfield.

The Merseyside hierarchy are now believed to be in the mix for another up-and-coming starlet who’s has a taste of senior action.

Liverpool in the mix to sign Jeremy Monga

According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool have ‘laid out their plans’ over a potential swoop for Jeremy Monga, with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle and both Manchester clubs also vying to sign the Leicester forward.

Representatives of the 16-year-old ‘are aware of’ the growing interest and acknowledge that it could be ‘very difficult for him to overlook’, with a ‘final decision’ on his future expected to be made in early 2026.

There have also been ‘conversations’ with elite European clubs such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, although he wouldn’t be able to leave England until he turns 18 in July 2027.

Ngumoha shows there can be a first-team pathway for youngsters at Liverpool

Monga was handed his senior debut at Leicester as a 15-year-old in the final few weeks of last season, becoming the second youngest player in Premier League history behind Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, and has had a handful of first-team start for the Foxes in the current Championship campaign.

There are striking similarities between him and Ngumoha – both are precocious left wingers who’ve made very early waves in senior football and have the confidence and ability to get fans out of their seats, with a report from GOAL describing him as a ‘fearless, mesmeric and technical dribbler’.

Liverpool have previous when it comes to signing teenage starlets from the East Midlands club, having snapped up Nyoni two years ago when he was just 16 years old, with the midfielder racking up eight official first-team appearances so far at Anfield.

Arne Slot has shown a willingness to give youth its fling at senior level if he feels it’s merited, and Monga can look at Ngumoha’s exploits as a sign that there might be a pathway into the Reds’ first team if he’s deemed good enough.

That could be crucial in tipping the scales when it comes to the ever-intensifying chase for his services, and it appears that we won’t have to wait a whole lot longer to discover who might be the lucky club to lure him from Leicester, if indeed he decides to move on next year.

If the Foxes fail to return to the top flight in 2026, it seems unlikely that the 16-year-old will hang around, given the scale of interest in him and his enormously high ceiling.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Brighton press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:

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