A Liverpool youngster has reportedly been prohibited from changing with the first-team squad due to a strict regulation enforced across all UK football clubs.
Liverpool kicked off their pre-season last weekend with a 3-0 victory over Championship side Preston North End at Deepdale Stadium.
While the spotlight of the match was on honoring Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, a number of players delivered impressive performances.
Among them was rising star Rio Ngumoha, who is expected to contribute to Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge in the upcoming season.
However, if Ngumoha is to be included in matchday squads, he may be subject to a rule that prevents him from sharing a dressing room with senior players.
Ngumoha joined Liverpool from Chelsea in September last year for an undisclosed fee, with the move seen as a major win for the Reds given the 16-year-old’s exceptional potential.
Just four months after his arrival, Ngumoha made history by becoming both the youngest Liverpool player to appear in an FA Cup match and the youngest ever to start a competitive fixture, after being named in the lineup against Accrington Stanley.
Despite his achievements, he may still be required to change separately from his teammates due to FA guidelines advising that players under 18—legally considered minors—should not change alongside adults.
Although this is a recommendation rather than a strict mandate, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta previously criticized the policy as ‘unbelievable’ when a similar situation affected Gunners prospect Ethan Nwaneri.
Arteta spoke about Nwaneri and fellow youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly, noting the close connection between the two despite being placed in separate changing areas.
He added that Nwaneri still couldn’t use the first-team dressing room—even on match days—which he found difficult to accept.
Like Nwaneri, Ngumoha’s talent and composure often make it easy to overlook how young he truly is.
It’s still uncertain whether Liverpool have enforced this policy in games Ngumoha has already played, including the recent pre-season match against Preston.
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