Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has suggested that the time for “holding back” teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha may finally be coming to an end.
The 17-year-old winger has been the name on every supporter’s lips following a transformative 13-minute cameo during Liverpool’s dramatic 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
With the Reds struggling for penetration, Ngumoha’s directness and bravery in one-on-one situations proved to be the catalyst for the late victory, leading to high-profile pundits like Jamie Carragher insisting the youngster “needs to be starting games.”
Managing the youngster
Since Ngumoha made the high-profile switch from Chelsea’s academy to Anfield in the summer of 2024, Liverpool have been desperate to temper the massive expectations surrounding a player already being touted as “the new Raheem Sterling.”
Slot has spent the 2025-26 campaign carefully managing the winger’s minutes, despite Ngumoha making history on August 25 by becoming Liverpool’s youngest-ever goalscorer with a 100th-minute winner at Newcastle.
Addressing his desire to compete at the highest level regardless of his birth certificate, Ngumoha said:
“I’m 16 but I don’t want my age to show that I can’t play with the older players. I want to prove a point that I can play with not just people my age but many ages above… There are people at the club who are always helping me and I’m always learning and improving, so I can’t complain.”
Slot rebuts the “data manipulation”
Despite the internal excitement, Ngumoha has seen just 88 minutes of Premier League action since that night on Tyneside. When asked in his pre-West Ham press conference what the 17-year-old needs to do to earn his first league start, Slot was quick to defend his selection policy and challenge the narrative.
“Another great example of how you can manipulate the data, only talking about Premier League games – not talking about FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League,” Slot responded. “So only taking that and saying ‘he only played 90 minutes [in the] Premier League‘, when I think if you want to be more realistic – or you just tell the truth – then you see that his playing time has improved massively over the last few weeks.”
Slot attributed this increase in responsibility to the player’s personal growth:
“There’s a reason for that, because he developed, he became a better player. I think it’s only very positive that people start to talk about him, because that tells you that he does really well. I would love people to talk about all the players I have on the bench like that, because that would mean every time I bring them in they do really well.”
The Importance of the one-vs-one
While many focused on the dazzling individual run that helped sink Forest, Slot hinted that he is looking at the broader “development of a player” beyond just the highlight reels. However, he admitted that Ngumoha possesses a rare quality that the Liverpool starting XI currently lacks.
“Of course the highlight was completely on his great one-vs-one action – and it should be, because I sat here many times saying how difficult it is to beat [players] one-on-one, and how important that is in football. But he had a few other moments in that game as well which we also talk about and maybe pundits don’t talk about that much.”
With West Ham visiting Anfield next, Slot gave the strongest indication yet that the winger’s patience is about to be rewarded:
“But that’s part of the development of a player and I really like where he’s at at the moment, where he is in his development. And I would be surprised, if he stays fit, if more minutes don’t come in the near future.”
In the velvet-smooth transition from the Klopp era to the Slot machine, few subplots have gripped the Anfield faithful quite like the ascent of Rio Ngumoha. As Paul Gorst might observe, there is a distinct sense that the bubble-wrap is finally coming off.
While the club was desperate to maintain a lid on the “new Raheem Sterling” hype after his summer arrival from Chelsea, the 17-year-old’s 100th-minute winner at St. James’ Park and his recent demolition job at the City Ground have made silence impossible.
Slot, usually the master of the understated tactical brief, now finds himself at a crossroads: continue the “careful management” or yield to the undeniable evidence that the kid is simply ready.
The wide forward hierarchy
With the departure of Luis Diaz, the left-hand side of Liverpool’s attack has become a fascinating battleground. Cody Gakpo provides the tactical discipline and the physical presence, but Ngumoha offers the “bravery” and 1v1 directness that makes Anfield stand up.
Below is how the teenage sensation stacks up against the senior stalwarts in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign:
Player Age PL Goals PL Assists Successful Take-ons (per 90) Style Profile Mohamed Salah 33 12 8 2.1 The Elite Finisher Cody Gakpo 26 7 4 1.8 The Tactical Anchor Rio Ngumoha 17 2 1 4.2 The Direct Specialist “I really like where he’s at at the moment, where he is in his development,” Slot noted during his pre-West Ham briefing. “I would be surprised, if he stays fit, if more minutes don’t come in the near future.”
The Anfield outlook
The data doesn’t lie, but as Slot points out, it can be “manipulated.” While Ngumoha’s Premier League minutes (just 88) look lean, his contributions across the Champions League and domestic cups paint a picture of a player who has already bypassed the typical “academy” phase.
Slot’s “protective stance” is noble, but after watching Ngumoha turn a “serious spot of bother” into three points at Nottingham Forest, the Dutchman knows he has a match-winner on his hands. Against West Ham, we may finally see the “reasons” for a start move from the training ground to the Anfield turf.
