Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes it is a “must” that Liverpool agree fresh terms with Rio Ngumoha, warning the club not to repeat past mistakes in letting young talent slip away.
Ngumoha, 18, made his England debut during the latest Nations League break and has already featured five times for Liverpool this season. He has less than two years left on his current deal, and while the club are keen to reward his progress, the delay in agreeing new terms has raised concerns among supporters.
Arsenal are tracking him, and Bayern Munich showed interest during the summer. Johnson told Live Football Tickets: “It’s a must. Recently Liverpool have lost a lot of players, either for cheap or even for free. This kid could be the next big thing. He looks fantastic.”
He added: “It’s good to see him doing it for England as well. Everything about him at the moment is positive. You need to keep that train moving, so he deserves a new contract.”
Ngumoha could make only his seventh Premier League start when Manchester City visit Anfield on Sunday, with Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo both injured.
Johnson also backed Ronald Araujo over Jeremie Frimpong at right-back, but warned against playing Dominik Szoboszlai regularly in the role. “I think he’s their best midfielder,” he said. “It would be a waste.”
How this story developed
- 10 Oct We first reported this.
- 22 Oct Lewis Steele reports that Ngumoha's agent is in active talks with Liverpool and that sources close to the player say he wants to commit long-term, despite interest from Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Updated 22 October 2026, 08:00. Written by PremClub News with the help of AI, using only facts from the reports listed on this page. How we rate stories · Editorial policy