Rio Ngumoha has said that his decision to swap Chelsea for Liverpool in 2024 was a ‘no-brainer’.The Reds signed the teenage winger from the London club’s academy just after he turned 16, with a subsequent tribunal determining that the Merseysiders were to pay an initial £2.8m (potentially rising to £6.8m) in compensation.The now 18-year-old has gone on to make 44 appearances and counting for LFC’s first team, along with winning three senior England caps, and he’s turned in some man-of-the-match performances at Champions League level.Ngumoha: Joining Liverpool was a ‘no-brainer’In a recent media interview (via The Standard), Ngumoha explained that he decided to leave Chelsea for Liverpool because he saw a clearer pathway to the first team at Anfield than he did in west London.The winger said: “I needed a new challenge. I feel like if I stayed at Chelsea… not saying I wouldn’t have got to the first team as quickly, because I believe in my ability, but I feel Liverpool just gave me a new pathway.“The plan they set for me was straightforward. For me, it was a no-brainer going to Liverpool.”(Photo by Carl Recine/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 trustNgumoha’s leap of faith has been fully vindicatedThe Reds have had a fine track record for attracting top-class teenage talents in recent years, and Ngumoha is perhaps the standout signing in that category.That Liverpool were prepared to go through a rigorous registration process with the Premier League (as the winger was a minor at the time) shows just how determined they were to see the deal through, and all of that bureaucratic effort has proven to be more than worth it.In little more than a year, the teenager has gone from highly-rated prospect to established first-team presence, and there’s a palpable excitement among the fans at Anfield every time he gets the ball, with many a defender bamboozled by his phenomenal dribbling ability and supreme self-confidence.Ngumoha’s leap of faith in joining the Reds has been vindicated by his regularity of senior football, especially this season as he’s started almost half of our matches across all competitions, and full credit to him for seizing his opportunity when it’s been handed to him.Chelsea’s loss has very much proven to be our gain, and with the 18-year-old now holding a market value of €50m (£41.8m), that aforementioned compensation fee looks increasingly like one of the steals of the century.The post ‘If I stayed…’ – Rio Ngumoha reflects on ‘no-brainer’ decision to swap Chelsea for Liverpool appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.