Man Utd once had a great opportunity to recruit Rio Ngumoha, the English football prodigy currently playing for Liverpool, but lost this young talent to their arch-rivals due to indecision.

Rio Ngumoha was once one of the brightest names in the Chelsea academy. Although only 16 years old, he has spent 8 years training at Cobham and is highly appreciated by experts. John Terry, who was a youth team coach, shared with The Athletic :

Former Chelsea youth coach John Terry highly rates the English prodigy (Photo: CFC)

“Rio is a quick learner, a good listener and eager to perform. Sometimes he can be a bit hasty and wants to do it all himself, but his potential is undeniable. This kid is a beast. ”

Not willing to let go of this gem, Chelsea tried to keep Rio. However, Liverpool were quicker and got the youngster’s signature last summer.

Ngumoha is a phenomenon at Liverpool (Photo: LFC)

It is worth mentioning that before coming to Anfield, Ngumoha had time to contact and work directly with Manchester United , and was even presented with a clear career development plan if he joined the Red Devils. However, it was the confusion and indecision during the negotiation process that caused MU to lose the opportunity.

After MU showed signs of slowing down, Liverpool quickly seized the opportunity, made an attractive offer and received a nod from Rio Ngumoha. A year later, that decision seems to be bringing “sweet fruit” for both Ngumoha and The Reds.

Ngumoha not only made his debut for Liverpool’s first team in the FA Cup , but also became the youngest player in the club’s history to start an official match . At the age of 16, he was named by coach Arne Slot in the summer tour list and played outstandingly in the recent Asian tour.

This young star is trusted by coach Arne Slot (Photo: LFC)

On the contrary, Man United just had the worst season in Premier League history, finishing outside the top 10 and losing to Tottenham in the Europa League final. In the context of a lack of promising young talent, losing a name like Ngumoha made MU’s leadership regretful.

Fans believe that this could be a decisive “turning point” in Rio Ngumoha’s career, and at the same time a valuable lesson for MU in approaching and developing young talent. While Liverpool continues to upgrade their squad with big contracts such as Florian Wirtz or Hugo Ekitike, mistakes in scouting have caused MU to fall further and further behind in the race with big rivals.