Richard Hughes holds talks with wonderkid about a Liverpool deal

Richard Hughes holds talks with wonderkid about a Liverpool deal Liverpool have dominated the transfer headlines this summer. After their failures last term, the Anfield outfit were expected to massively change their ranks around with a new-look starting XI expected to take on Newcastle in their opening game of the season. And, while there will be plenty of changes thanks to the players that have exited, it still feels like more needs to be done before Liverpool become title challengers again. Of course, Andoni Iraola's main goal this season will be to ensure that Liverpool don't end up doing worse than they did last term but, if he could add an extra piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet, that would certainly not be frowned upon. However, for him to be able to do this, certain deals will need to be made and now, it feels like Richard Hughes is edging closer to making one of them become a reality. Liverpool have opened talks with Rio Ngumoha about signing a new contract Last season, one of the only youngsters that Arne Slot paid attention to was Rio Ngumoha . By the end of the campaign, the 17-year-old became one of the first names on the Dutchman's team sheet thanks to the poor performances that Cody Gakpo was putting in. Although he didn't contribute to that many goals last term, the fact that he netted the first goal of his Premier League career proves just how good he is. These performances have proven how much potential he actually has and have made Liverpool believe that he needs to be offered a new deal so that they can secure his future in L4. This news has been confirmed in a fresh update from TEAMtalk who share that the Anfield outfit have already "held talks" with the youngster about him potentially extending his stay. "Liverpool have already held talks with Rio Ngumoha over a new long-term contract and expect an agreement to be in place in the coming months, TEAMtalk can reveal," they wrote. "Ngumoha is set to play a key role under new head coach Andoni Iraola and will turn 18 at the end of August, when he becomes eligible to sign a new long-term contract. His current deal expires at the end of the upcoming campaign. "Liverpool are now ready to recognise his rapid rise with a significantly improved deal after previously giving the teenager the maximum three-year contract allowed when he joined the club. "TEAMtalk understands the new agreement would come with a huge pay rise, while also including performance-related increases linked to international appearances as Liverpool prepare for Ngumoha to establish himself at senior level." Liverpool must do everything they can to keep Rio Ngumoha around It goes without saying that Ngumoha is one of the Premier League's brightest prospects. The young Englishman was bought by Liverpool from Chelsea a couple of years ago and, in that time, he's managed to feature for Thomas Tuchel's England and has potentially even forced Gakpo out of the club . Not only does this prove how serious Liverpool are about it but it also shows how much faith the club has in him. Last season, he was one of the Reds' best players despite only really being used during the final months of the campaign. But, this was clearly enough for other clubs to see that he was the next big thing as, at the start of the summer transfer window, Bayern Munich enquired about signing him . If Liverpool end up letting Ngumoha leave at the end of the 2026-27 season, it'll be yet another massive failure and fans will almost certainly be left wondering what the future has in store for the club. Here's hoping that negotiations are swift and that both parties can agree on a new deal, otherwise, Liverpool will be in a whole world of trouble.