Steven Gerrard has urged Liverpool manager Arne Slot to give Rio Ngumoha a start.
Ngumoha, 17, excelled once more from the bench in the Reds’ 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night.
In the 65th minute, the teenage winger took the place of the struggling Cody Gakpo, and goalkeeper José Sá subsequently tipped his attempt onto the post.
“For 65 minutes Liverpool were desperate tonight, really poor, didn’t create enough, didn’t play at the right speed or the right tempo, didn’t have enough quality,” Gerrard told TNT Sports as quoted by ESPN.
“[Slot] has to start Ngumoha now. He has to start him because he’s coming on and he’s doing more in a short cameo in a short space of time than Gakpo’s doing in 65, 70 minutes.
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“He deserves to start now. He’s got to start the kid on Friday night [in the FA Cup].”
Despite making 11 appearances for the defending champions in the Premier League this season, Ngumoha has not yet started a match.
He was highly commended for his contribution from the bench in Liverpool’s most recent victory at Nottingham Forest, and he scored a thrilling stoppage-time goal against Newcastle United early in the season.
This season, the 17-year-old has only made appearances in the starting 11 in domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup against Barnsley and the EFL Cup against Southampton and Crystal Palace.
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