Rio Ngumoha responds after Arne Slot's blunt reason for lack of Liverpool minutes

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Rio Ngumoha is happy to remain patient at Liverpool after Arne Slot made it clear that the club won't rush his development. Ngumoha has made 15 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions this season, but is yet to start in the Premier League or Champions League .

The 17-year-old winger scored a dramatic late winner against Newcastle earlier in August and has caught the eye when introduced off the bench on a few other occasions. After helping Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Sunday , there have been calls from supporters for Ngumoha to start ahead of Cody Gakpo .

But Slot is content with Ngumoha's current role, having handed him 89 minutes in the Premier League this season, making him the most-used 17-year-old in the division, ahead of Brighton's Harry Howell.

“He has incredible potential, otherwise at 17 years of age you don’t play as many minutes as he does in the Premier League, let alone at Liverpool ,” Slot said. “I don’t think there’s any other 17-year-old that has played so many minutes this season in the Premier League as he has.

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“So that tells you how much of a talent he is and we think he is. He’s making progress more and more and that’s why lately you see him playing more and more as well. He gets stronger.

“Apart from his moment where he had that one-vs-one, there were also one or two other moments where he showed that he stood his ground. And that is of course what you need, because you face 25, 26, 27, 28-year-old athletes mainly as your opponents.

“We are a bit of an exception in terms of the age of our group of players, most teams we face have players of different ages and different physicality. So for him to show this already at 17 says something about his talent.

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“But as we all know, talent is only the start of a career and you need so many other things – as we’ve shown today, Macca a great example of mentality, that is something you need to get a career at this level.”

Ngumoha is also content with his current position, having spoken to reporters at the City Ground. "I just need to keep pushing and keep gaining the manager's trust and hopefully that leads to more minutes," Ngumoha said, as reported by the Liverpool Echo . "Hopefully [more minutes] soon."

He added: "For me, I just take it all the same really. Obviously if it is 0-0 you've got to a little bit less expressive I would say. However, if the opportunity is there to take on a man, I will do it any day of the week, so I would probably say it is the same really.

"I know [when I come on] I need to at least do something and try and impact the game. Whether that is on the ball or off the ball. So whether it is like trying to put in a tackle or press to win the ball back, put balls into the box, have shots on target or just beat my man...

"I just think, you know, every single time I am called on for the team, I just want to show everyone what I can do really."

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