“He was picked out by Liverpool. He was at Chelsea and he gets offered first team football at Liverpool at such a young age. He’s a brilliant talent and I think he’s got a great future at Liverpool.”

Liverpool HAVE to keep hold of Rio Ngumoha

Ngumoha was breathtaking to watch against Villarreal, producing so many eye-catching dribbles and standing out as the best player on the pitch, even though the £100m+ trio of Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak were all involved at some point.

The winger is a special talent who can become truly world-class over time, with former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge waxing lyrical about him after the match on Tuesday:

“Rio Ngumoha was magnificent tonight. Such a threat, and he dedicated himself to his tasks. On the ball this kid has so much potential, and I say kid, but he’s a young man. He has so much quality and it’s stuff that you can’t teach to be honest.

“What he does with the ball at his feet, that is God-given ability, and his hard work on the training pitch, doing things day in and day out, and being ruthless, is what he said in his interview, and I like that. He wants to be decisive, and I love that about him.”

Hopefully, Ngumoha is happy at Liverpool and sees his long-term future at Anfield, but whatever happens, a contract extension must be sealed as soon as possible.

That will allow the Reds to be in a strong bargaining position if interest in the England international does emerge, but the hope is that he isn’t going anywhere for a long time.