Despite signing a new contract, the teenager who has made an impact on the Liverpool first team is not allowed in the Reds’ locker room.
Rio Ngumoha, a rising star for Liverpool, has been “banned” from the dressing room even though he has signed his first professional contract with the team.
Nearly a month after Ngumoha’s 17th birthday, the Reds announced on Thursday that he had inked his first contract with the Premier League winners.
According to a release on Liverpool’s official website, “Rio Ngumoha has signed his first professional contract with Liverpool FC.”
After previously playing for Chelsea, the attacker joined the Academy in September 2024 and has since made five senior appearances for the Reds, most notably in Tuesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Southampton.
“Ngumoha made his Premier League debut last month, scoring the game-winning goal in the 100th minute of a 3-2 victory over Newcastle United.”
Ngumoha continues to grow stronger
The gifted forward, who had been registered with Chelsea since he was eight years old, moved to Anfield last summer.
When Ngumoha started the FA Cup match against Accrington earlier this year, he became the youngest player to start a first-team match, and the Blues were devastated to lose him.
Despite being young, Ngumoha’s career has exploded in recent months after he was part of the team’s preseason trip to Japan and Hong Kong.
The teenager also became the club’s youngest player in European competition after coming off the bench against Atletico Madrid last week, and he became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history when he scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory at Newcastle.
He received his first professional contract as a reward for his quick ascent to fame.
But as of right now, Ngumoha is not allowed in the Liverpool locker room.
Ngumoha and Liverpool are subject to a stringent restriction that prohibits the forward and his colleagues from sharing a changing room, not because of a lack of discipline or as a form of discipline from head coach Arne Slot.
Players under the age of 18, who are legally considered juveniles, are not allowed to change with adults, according to FA regulations.
The ‘unbelievable’ rule was enforced against Arsenal.
When Ethan Nwaneri was unable to change with his fellow Arsenal first-team players early in the season, Mikel Arteta called the restriction “unbelievable.”
“It is inconceivable that Ethan is still in our dressing room. Even on game day, he needs to get dressed somewhere else,” the Gunners manager stated the previous season.
Now that he is eighteen, Nwaneri is permitted to use the Arsenal first team dressing room on game days.
This season, the England prospect has made four competitive appearances for Arsenal, coming on as a substitute in games against Manchester City, Leeds, and Nottingham Forest.
Nevertheless, Max Dowman, who won’t turn 16 until the end of the year and who, when he came on as a substitute against Leeds last month, became the second youngest player in Premier League history after Nwaneri, is unable to change with the Gunners’ starting lineup.
In a similar vein, Ngumoha cannot access the Liverpool dressing room until August of next year, when he will be 18.
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