Liverpool Take Drastic Action to Stop Real Madrid Poaching Another Key Player

Liverpool have been forced to take drastic action to prevent a Real Madrid approach for another of their players, it has been reported.

The Reds lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to Los Blancos in the summer.

The England international was due to join the club on a free transfer, but Real paid a £10 million fee to release him from his contract early in order to play in the Club World Cup.

Liverpool acted quickly to sign Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong as his replacement.

In recent months, Ibrahima Konate - who is in the final year of his contract at Anfield - has been linked with a free transfer move to Real.

The Reds have since signed promising 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni from Parma, with a £35 million move for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi falling through on deadline day.

But Real now have their sights set on another Liverpool player.

According to Fichajes, the Spanish giants are 'closely monitoring' wonderkid Rio Ngumoha, with the 17-year-old's contract also due to expire in 2026.

However, the same outlet claim that Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is preparing to table a long-term contract to keep the forward at Anfield.

Ngumoha scored the winning goal in Liverpool's 3-2 victory over Newcastle last month, firing in a right-footed shot into the top right corner from the edge of the penalty area.

He became just the fourth Premier League player in history - alongside James Vaughan, Wayne Rooney and James Milner - to score a goal before turning 17.

Speaking afterwards, Ngumoha spoke to Liverpool's official website of his delight at breaking through into the Liverpool first team and his scoring his debut senior goal.

"It was crazy," he said. "He [Slot] looked at me and pointed at me, like, 'Get on, get ready, you just have to come on and make an impact'. Luckily and thank God that I did that.

"As the ball came I just thought, I back myself to score. The fans, I heard them screaming my name. That's a sensational moment.

"But you can't get too carried away with all the noise, because at the end of the day I probably do that finish 100 times a day on the training ground, so it's no different with the fans. But obviously with the fans backing you there... it's crazy."