Ngumoha, Liverpool and picking the right pathway.
Chelsea's academy still had three alumni winning the Club World Cup
One of the stars – or starlets – of pre-season has been Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool’s 16-year-old left-winger who is creating, scoring and taking on opponents for fun. The paths of prodigies rarely run completely smoothly in football, and potential pitfalls can await, whether external influences, the maturing process physically and emotionally. But all the indications are that Ngumoha is on the right trajectory, focused and well-advised, and at the right club to give him support and a stage.
Ngumoha’s sudden rise has inevitably brought close attention on his decision to leave Chelsea for Liverpool last year. Yet his rise has hardly been sudden. Those at Chelsea’s academy who oversaw his development knew he was a star in the making.