Arne Slot hints Rio Ngumoha could start for Liverpool while explaining the club’s cautious approach with the teenager.
Arne Slot has refused to rule out the possibility of Rio Ngumoha starting for Liverpool in Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, as the teenage winger continues to catch the eye with his performances.
The 17-year-old burst onto the scene earlier this season when he came off the bench to score a dramatic 100th-minute winner against Newcastle United at St James’ Park. The moment quickly endeared him to Liverpool fans while also highlighting his clinical finishing ability.
Ngumoha has featured 18 times for the Reds this season, though most of those appearances have come as late substitute cameos. His four starts so far have all been in domestic cup competitions.
However, Liverpool have struggled with a lack of pace in wide attacking areas this campaign. After impressing in substitute appearances against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, as well as in the FA Cup clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, some supporters have begun calling for the youngster to be handed his first Premier League start.
Slot opted not to start Ngumoha in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Galatasaray in Istanbul. But with Tottenham arriving at Anfield on Sunday amid a poor run of form, the former Chelsea academy player will be hoping this could be the moment he gets the nod from the beginning.
The Dutch head coach has been careful with how he has managed the winger’s minutes, gradually introducing him to first-team football. Yet when asked during Friday’s pre-match press conference whether Ngumoha could be ready to start, Slot did not dismiss the idea.
Slot explained:
“It’s not that we are planning too far ahead for his career, but we’ve handled him carefully, as I’ve said before. He can’t spend too many days on the pitch because of stress fractures. We’ve seen players at this club deal with that before, like Jayden Danns. But Rio can start for us.
I said he would get more playing time and we’ve seen that happen, so he is an option to start in one of the next three games.”
Liverpool currently sit sixth in the Premier League table after losing their last league match to bottom-placed Wolves. However, they could hardly ask for a more favorable opponent this weekend, with Spurs arriving at Anfield in dreadful form.
The North London side have lost six matches in a row, leaving new manager Igor Tudor still searching for his first win. Pressure is already mounting on the Croatian coach as Tottenham attempt to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.
Their struggles were highlighted again in midweek when they suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Spurs found themselves 4-0 down inside 25 minutes, with returning goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky making two costly errors before being substituted after just 17 minutes.
Despite Tottenham’s struggles, Liverpool cannot afford to take the match lightly. The Reds have already dropped points at Anfield this season against Nottingham Forest and Burnley — both of whom sit below Spurs in the table — and also suffered defeat to Wolves in their last league outing.
Speaking about expectations ahead of the game, Slot said:
“Even if Spurs were top of the league, people would still expect us to win at Anfield. The same applies when we play teams like Manchester City or Arsenal — we’re expected to win at home.
Those expectations come from our history. We can win a lot of games here regardless of the opponent, and the expectations are always high. This club has shown in recent years that it is capable of winning trophies.”
Ngumoha will now be hoping his manager believes the time has come to hand him his first Premier League start as Liverpool look to take control against their struggling opponents.
