Report: Liverpool hope to announce massive new deal soon as agreement ‘in principle’ is struck

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Liverpool are drawing ever closer to securing a bumper new contract for Rio Ngumoha, according to reports which emerged on Thursday.The teenage has been a revelation since breaking into the Reds’ first team over the past year, and Paul Joyce reported last month that the winger is expected to sign a new long-term deal after turning 18 at the end of August.He could only sign for a maximum of three years until reaching adulthood, but now that he’s no longer a minor, he’s able to extend his commitment to the Reds for a longer time.Liverpool have agreement ‘in principle’ on new deal for NgumohaOn Thursday morning, Graeme Bailey reported for TEAMtalk that Liverpool have now agreed a new contract ‘in principle’ with Ngumoha and are ‘rapidly accelerating’ towards a formal announcement of a long-term deal for the 18-year-old.The forward is set to be rewarded with a significant pay rise to more accurately reflect his importance to the club – Capology cites his current salary at £25,000 per week, which is among the lowest in the LFC squad.Liverpool are hoping to be in a position to make an official announcement ‘in the coming weeks’, with sources close to the matter indicating that ‘only finer details now need to be ironed out’.(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustTying down Ngumoha would be huge for LiverpoolNgumoha was the subject of concrete transfer interest from Bayern Munich at the start of the summer, as per German football insider Christian Falk, so tying him down to a new long-term deal would be massive for the Merseyside club.Competition for a starting berth has heightened with the summer arrivals of Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola, and the mooted departure of Cody Gakpo to Manchester City didn’t materialise, so the 18-year-old is likely to have an ongoing battle to get into Andoni Iraola’s first XI.However, with the head coach indicating that he’s set to rotate between his attackers this season once the Reds are juggling multiple competitions, there should be plenty of game-time to go around between every first-team winger, especially if (heaven forbid) injuries were to strike.BBC reporter Aadam Patel indicated during the summer that Ngumoha is ‘set to play a more prominent role’ for the Merseysiders this season, and that comes as no surprise considering the excitement that he generated during his debut campaign as a first-team player.Liverpool have been far too slow off the mark with a few contractual situations over the past couple of years, but thankfully they appear to have been much more proactive in this instance and have moved quickly to (pending a formal announcement) ensure that the teenager will be their player for another good few years yet.