Liverpool have confirmed that rising star Rio Ngumoha has signed his first professional contract with the club. The forward swapped Chelsea for the Reds a year ago and has enjoyed a rapid rise at the Premier League champions. The 17-year-old grabbed the headlines with his 100th-minute winner against Newcastle United earlier this season and now he has put pen to paper on a new deal.

Ngumoha pens new bumper Liverpool deal

Liverpool didn't disclose any details, but the left winger, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, is said to have committed his future at Anfield until the summer of 2028.

According to the , the teenager will now be on an annual salary of £52,000 ($69,000), which is the maximum for a first-year professional at Liverpool. He can, however, earn more through bonuses, but this still far eclipses the standard scholar's annual wages of £14,400 ($19,000) that he was previously on.

The Reds had to wait until he turned 17 last month before they were allowed to give Ngumoha this new professional contract. Incidentally, the Football Association's rules dictate that the maximum contract they can give a player of his age is three years.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLiverpool uncover latest gem

Ngumoha joined Chelsea's academy at the age of eight and spent the best part of a decade there before joining Liverpool in the summer of 2024. Last season, he featured for the Merseyside outfit's Under-18s, Under-19s, and Under-21s, before being handed his senior debut by manager Arne Slot against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup in January.

Shortly before he turned 17, Ngumoha netted a last-gasp winner for Liverpool in a 3-2 victory over Newcastle in the Premier League last month, prompting a deluge of positive coverage. He then made his Champions League debut in a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid last week, before registering his first start of the season in the 2-1 Carabao Cup triumph over Southampton on Tuesday. The way things are going, Ngumoha – the youngest ever Liverpool goalscorer and he youngest from the club to play in the Champions League – could get plenty of game time this term.

Slot and Van Dijk praise Ngumoha

After Ngumoha's winner at Newcastle, his manager Slot and team-mate Virgil van Dijk both lauded the teenager's contribution.

The Dutch boss said, "Rio can finish so well for his age. I did hear someone say afterwards in the dressing room he would have taken a first touch but he is so confident. For his age, he is a really good finisher."

Captain Van Dijk admitted, "I'm very pleased for Rio, I've said it to him already it all starts now, he has to keep working hard and stay humble but definitely have to enjoy this because these nights, you can't take them for granted if you're in his position."

And Ngumoha himself added, "I think Dom [Szoboszlai] just knew I was there. He said to me in the changing room, 'I hoped you were there,' and then luckily he just looked, and then I was there. As the ball came, I just thought I could back myself to score and then…I don't even know, it's crazy."

Getty Images SportNgumoha targets more Liverpool game time

For all the praise that has come his way, and this new contract is a reward for his bright start to the season, Ngumoha still has a long way to go at Liverpool. He has had two cameos off the bench in the Premier League this term, and the youngster had a quarter of an hour against Atletico Madrid; but he did get 75 minutes at home to Championship side Southampton in midweek.

The England Under-19 international will hope to get some minutes away at unbeaten Crystal Palace in the league on Saturday, a side that beat them in the Community Shield final at Wembley in August. Before the Reds head off for the international break, Slot's team travel to Galatasaray in their next Champions League fixture on Tuesday, then head to Stamford Bridge in the league on October 4 to lock horns with Chelsea.

This is a great opportunity for Liverpool, who have won all five of their league matches so far this campaign, to stretch their lead at the top of the table, with Slot's players already five points clear of the chasing pack.