As Liverpool made their way out of the City Ground on Sunday, Rio Ngumoha was keen to talk.
He may only be 17 but already there are signs that the maturity he has on the pitch relates to his off-pitch behaviour too.
Such was his impact in Liverpool’s win at Nottingham Forest – including playing his part in Alexis Mac Allister’s disallowed goal after replacing Mohamed Salah in the 77th minute – that he earned praise all around.
“Top drawer. Changed the game for them. A winger that wants to beat his man and deliver with a mix of speed and finesse,” said ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge added: “Every time I watch Ngumoha, he looks electric. Direct, fearless, always trying to affect the game. He deserves more minutes. Simple as that.”
More minutes is what Ngumoha desires. Until now, the teenager has been restricted to just 89 minutes in the Premier League despite being in the squad for all the games except one. And he’s determined to show everyone his capabilities.
When he came on against Forest, was the mindset to make a statement?
“Yeah, I know I need to at least do something to try to impact the game, whether that’s on the ball or off the ball. That can be putting in a tackle, pressing to win the ball back, putting balls in the box, having shots on target or just beating my man,” said Ngumoha.
“I just think every single time I’m called on for the team, I want to show everyone what I can do really.”
When Ngumoha scored a dramatic 100th-minute winner at Newcastle in August and became Liverpool‘s youngest goalscorer, there was a feeling externally that he would be seen more frequently this season.
Yet Slot has managed his game-time, with the teenager who Liverpool poached from Chelsea in 2024 only starting in the EFL Cup and FA Cup so far.
When Luis Diaz left for Bayern Munich last summer, Liverpool opted to create a pathway for Ngumoha rather than going for Bradley Barcola or Malick Fofana.
Given the recent struggles of Cody Gakpo, who has played more minutes than any Liverpool forward this season, Ngumoha perhaps deserves a chance down his preferred left flank.
Down the right, Salah has gone nine Premier League games without a goal, and it was down that side where Ngumoha impressed on Sunday.
“Hopefully [more game-time] soon, just keep pushing and gaining the manager’s trust and hopefully that leads to more minutes,” insisted Ngumoha, who has continued playing at academy level in recent weeks.
Last weekend, the day after he had a goal wrongly disallowed against Brighton in the FA Cup, Ngumoha scored a screamer against West Brom at U21 level.
He said: “I feel like if you are not playing as much then you can stagnate, so I want to gain more minutes – whether that is Under-18s or 21s – I am still so young, so I am available to play, so any games I can play, I will.”
