Liverpool unlikely to pursue Bradley Barcola or Malick Fofana this week

Arne Slot could possibly be ready to place loads of religion in a single teen at Liverpool this season, judging by experiences over the previous 24 hours.

The Reds’ ahead line has modified significantly over the summer time, because of the devastating lack of Diogo Jota and the next gross sales of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, with Hugo Ekitike the one attacking addition to this point.

The Frenchman is one among simply 4 out-and-out senior forwards at Anfield, and the Merseysiders might viably submit one other supply for Alexander Isak this week, though the pinnacle coach doesn’t appear overly perturbed by the depth at his disposal within the remaining third of the pitch.

Slot happy with attacking depth at Liverpool

As per Paul Joyce for The Occasions on Sunday night time, Slot believes he has different choices who could possibly be utilised in assault, name-checking Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong as auxiliary forwards if required.

Though the Liverpool boss didn’t explicitly point out Rio Ngumoha, the report claims that the 16-year-old ‘sparkled in pre-season’ to the extent that the membership have indicated they would like to create a pathway for him than signal both Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain) or Malick Fofana (Lyon).

Ngumoha appears able to make an impression for Liverpool this time period

{The teenager} was certainly a standout participant for the Reds in pre-season, scoring chic solo targets in opposition to Yokohama F. Marinos and Athletic Bilbao and – within the phrases of Sky Sports activities reporter Patrick Rowe – ‘staking a significant declare to be firmly within the first-team image’ within the 2025/26 marketing campaign.

Ngumoha was named on the bench for the Group Defend and the Premier League opener in opposition to Bournemouth, however didn’t characteristic in both sport, and his solely aggressive senior look to date stays his FA Cup outing in opposition to Accrington Stanley in January (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, he’s proven a unprecedented self-confidence for such a younger participant in a first-team setting, and it appears inevitable that he’ll be handed a top-flight debut all through the approaching months.

It’s unlikely to come back within the high-stakes fixtures in opposition to Newcastle and Arsenal over the following week, however he could possibly be launched if Liverpool are in a cushty profitable place, just like how Mikel Arteta introduced on 15-year-old Max Dowman with the Gunners 4-0 to the great in opposition to Leeds on Saturday.

With solely per week remaining within the switch window and Richard Hughes’ consideration seemingly targeted on potential offers for Isak and Marc Guehi, it’s exhausting to think about the Reds making a late try and signal Barcola or Fofana.

As an alternative, Slot is ready to belief in Ngumoha to make an impression on the primary workforce in a aggressive surroundings. From what we’ve seen of {the teenager} to this point, any such religion could be properly positioned.