Arne Slot at WAR with Liverpool over Rio Ngumoha

Cameron Smith

• 6 Jan 2026 08:31 GMT
• 4 min read

News

Arne Slot is embroiled in a civil war with the Liverpool hierarchy that could result in him losing his job at Anfield.

The Dutchman enjoyed a sublime debut season with the Reds as he guided them to just their second ever Premier League title with consummate ease.

Current ETV

Rio Ngumoha

F (L)

Liverpool

Rio Ngumoha

F (L)

Liverpool

€26.2M

ETV Range

€23.6M - €28.8M

View full profile

However, Liverpool have regressed hugely this campaign, despite a summer spending spree that saw Slot backed with €482.9 million worth of investment in the transfer market.

High-profile new recruits Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have largely failed to impress, while full-back duo Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are yet to establish themselves as guaranteed starters.

Hugo Ekitike has been an undoubted success since his arrival at Anfield, but he is the only summer signing to have hit the ground running this season.

Arne Slot civil war

Despite the vast spending sanctioned by the Liverpool board last summer, AnfieldWatch have confirmed that Slot was eager for the club to bolster his options on the left flank following Luis Diaz’s departure to Bayern Munich.

It’s reported that Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain) and Malick Fofana (Lyon) were both identified as key targets by the Dutchman, however the club refused to pursue a move for either player as they wanted Slot to instead promote talented youngster Rio Ngumoha into the first-team.

The 17-year-old left Chelsea in controversial fashion to join Liverpool in 2024 and Richard Hughes, the Reds’ sporting director, was keen for Slot to hand the teenager a prominent senior role following his promising displays in pre-season.

However, Slot wanted to send Ngumoha out on loan and sign a more experienced replacement for Diaz. The Liverpool hierarchy subsequently refused and informed Slot that he must give the 17-year-old regular opportunities in the first-team.

AnfieldWatch report that this has “been a source of contention ever since”, with Slot refusing to use Ngumoha regularly, despite his encouraging form whenever trusted.

The ex-Chelsea starlet became the fourth youngest player to score a Premier League goal when he netted a last-gasp winner versus Newcastle United in August, but he has been rewarded with just 47 minutes of action in the English top flight since that historic moment.

It’s reported that Slot has little interest in working with Liverpool’s academy players and is insisting that he needs stars who are ready to perform now. This has caused a major civil war at Anfield and could result in Slot being sacked if the situation doesn’t change.

Football transfer news headlines today

DONE DEALS: Every official completed transfer around Europe today

TRANSFER RUMOURS: Chelsea receive demand as Arsenal talks confirmed

EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal open contract talks with Kai Havertz

EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal monitoring Newcastle star Tino Livramento

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store