Seventeen-year-old Rio Ngumoha signs first professional contract at Liverpool

Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha has signed his first professional contract a month after turning 17 and a year after arriving from Chelsea.

The winger, whose match-winning goal at Newcastle in August made him the club’s youngest goal-scorer aged 16 years and 361 days, has enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks and has been rewarded with a three-year deal.

Ngumoha, who has made five senior appearances, made his debut in the FA Cup third-round tie at home to Accrington in January and after impressing in pre-season was made a permanent member of head coach Arne Slot’s first-team squad.

His Premier League debut saw him score the winner at St James’ Park in the 10th minute of added time and his appearance off the bench in last week’s Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid made him the club’s youngest player in European competition.

Chelsea were unhappy with Liverpool’s capture of a player who had been with them since the age of eight and for a while it is understood the club’s scouts were banned from watching matches at the Blues’ academy.

It is believed the Newham-born youngster chose to leave as he believed the pathway on offer was better at Liverpool and that decision appears to have already been vindicated.

Off the pitch the club have announced they issued a record 1,114 lifetime bans for ticket touting, with almost half of those imposed following the discovery of mass manipulation of software last season.

Investigators for the club also shut down 162 social media groups, with a combined membership of more than one million users, involved in selling fake tickets or reselling real tickets and closed 45,000 fake ticketing accounts.