Rio Ngumoha was reportedly frustrated by the amount of game time he received under Arne Slot last season, which may have contributed to Bayern Munich’s interest in the teenager.
Liverpool have dismissed any suggestion that Ngumoha could leave for the Bundesliga champions. However, the reason behind Bayern’s interest remains unclear.
The 17-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, making 29 first-team appearances and becoming Liverpool’s youngest-ever goalscorer. He scored twice, provided one assist and went on to earn his senior England debut.
According to BBC Sport‘s Sami Mokbel, “it is understood there was some dissatisfaction over his level of game time” under Slot last season.
Mokbel claims that situation has led “a number of clubs throughout Europe,” including Bayern Munich, to sense an opportunity to prise Rio Ngumoha away from Liverpool.
Rio Ngumoha is expected to leave England camp ahead of the World Cup this week and will link up with Andoni Iraola’s squad for the start of pre-season in a month’s time.
The 17-year-old played 952 minutes for Liverpool’s first team in 2025/26, alongside two appearances for the U21s, and registered the most minutes of any Premier League player aged 17 or under.
He made his first league start in March, one of five in total, during a 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Anfield. His only absence from a Liverpool matchday squad came in the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in October, across 57 games in all competitions.
Ngumoha became a regular in the side from January, featuring in 20 of 27 matches following the FA Cup win over Barnsley.
While Arne Slot was praised for carefully managing his workload, the teenager’s limited starts drew external attention, particularly amid comparisons to Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
Read more: Liverpool announce 12 departures
Alex Scott emerges as target for Liverpool as Bournemouth set hefty asking price