Liverpool’s decision to sell Luis Diaz may be grounded in business sense, but it could also be informed by their confidence in 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha.Diaz will depart Anfield this summer having made a telling impact since his eye-catching move from Porto three-and-a-half years ago.Liverpool snatched ahead of Tottenham to land a deal worth an initial £37.5 million, and though the overall agreement included up to £12.5 million in bonuses, the Colombian’s eventual cost stands at around £43 million.That makes his sale to Bayern Munich for €75 million (£65.6m) an outstanding piece of business, despite the clear loss in what he offers on the pitch.Turning 29 in January and with two years remaining on his contract it was concluded that Diaz would not be offered the extension – and pay increase – he and his representatives were seeking.Paying for the next generationInstead the emphasis will be on Cody Gakpo as first-choice left winger with further reinforcements in the centre-forward role as Hugo Ekitike arrives and speculation continues around Newcastle‘s Alexander Isak.Diaz’s sale effectively pays for Ekitike – who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial £69 million rising to £79 million – while potentially freeing up the funds already in the bank to execute another British record transfer for Isak.It comes as part of a bold and ambitious regeneration of the Liverpool squad in the wake of Arne Slot‘s stellar debut campaign, winning the Premier League title having spent just £10 million on Federico Chiesa.Though Diaz was a remnant of the Jurgen Klopp era, he was very much cherished by the German’s successor – but Slot is a pragmatist and he will have agreed with the cold calculations of Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards.Given Gakpo is already in place and there are grand plans for the No. 9 spot, the head coach will be safe in the knowledge that Liverpool can absorb this loss.Slot may also be encouraged by the blossoming talent further down the pecking order on the left wing, with 16-year-old Ngumoha making a name for himself in pre-season.With Diaz not involved in any of the opening friendlies of the warmup schedule, it was Ngumoha who started against Preston, Stoke and, crucially, AC Milan.In each of those games he did so on the opposite flank to Mohamed Salah, supporting a revolving cast of centre-forwards: first Chiesa, then Darwin Nunez, then Florian Wirtz.He scored his first goal at senior level in the 5-0 win behind closed doors against Stoke, before assisting Dominik Szoboszlai‘s stunning strike in the 4-2 defeat to Milan in Hong Kong.While everything comes with the caveat of these being warmup friendlies not representative of the finished product, there has been a marked improvement from Ngumoha on his debut campaign as a Liverpool player.Ngumoha’s swift developmentSigned from the Chelsea academy shortly after his 16th birthday, the tricky winger initially joined the U18s ranks before being given opportunities with the U21s and a competitive debut for the first team.There were moments of brilliance and enough to convince Slot and his staff in training, but Ngumoha could also frustrate teammates with his one-track mind.Too often the simple pass would be overlooked in favour of another run at an opposing full-back, or a spectacular effort made when a better-placed teammate could be played in for a chance.Of course that should be expected of a player yet to turn 17 who grew up watching Neymar Jr, but clearly that approach does not wash at first-team level.But Ngumoha appears to have returned for his second season at Liverpool with a sharpened focus, perhaps knowing that he would be one of few academy players promoted to Slot’s ranks for pre-season and beyond.He looks to have grown in stature in the 10 months since he arrived from Chelsea and that made his running battle with Milan’s Fikayo Tomori more of a realistic contest.Unlike last summer when Slot began his first pre-season without the majority of the players who would prove most important to him, this time around he kicked off with an almost full complement of senior talent.That meant fewer opportunities for Liverpool’s young hopefuls, which demonstrates the faith in Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni and utility man Luca Stephenson.They have impressed themselves on those around them, too, not least Ngumoha who attracted praise from his more established teammates after the clash with Milan.“He’s a good kid as well and he’s got a fantastic head on his shoulders,” smiled Andy Robertson, speaking to The Anfield Wrap.“He’s got people like Mo that can help him so much. We always try and help him. Him and Trey, they’re so young but they’re such good kids and they’ve got a hell of a future.“You can just see them coming on every time and the more they train with us, the more they play with us, they just get better and better.“That’s the last two games now I’ve played with Rio in front of me and he just keeps on coming on.“He’s got a hell of a future ahead of him, but the here and now looks pretty good as well!”Harvey Elliott, who himself joined Liverpool as a 16-year-old and was immediately promoted to the first team, echoed that, telling LiverpoolFC.com: “He’s fearless.“I think he showed that today against AC Milan, one of Europe’s big teams. He just looked like a kid in a park, although he is a kid!“He just needs to carry on like that and we’re trying as much as we can to help him out.Gakpo’s new alternate?“I think if he keeps on performing the way he is, working hard as he is, the kid’s got an amazing future and [I’m] really excited to see where things go.“Hopefully he can be very successful.”Expectations may be tempered upon the conclusion of pre-season – Ngumoha is, after all, still comfortably young enough to play for the U18s – but there is a sense that this is not just a fleeting opportunity.The focus will remain on Gakpo as Slot’s go-to starter on the left, with Wirtz and Szoboszlai among those who could also fill in.But there can be no ruling out a future for Ngumoha as a long-term replacement for Diaz – as Liverpool’s new maverick on the left wing.