Arne Slot's Rio Ngumoha defence just doesn't add up | OneFootball

Arne Slot has been at pains to explain his relatively sparse usage of Rio Ngumoha this season.

It was expected that the England youngster would make the step up to the first team following the departure of Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich. And he was given a first-ever professional contract just after he turned 17.

But with just 11 games left in the season Rio is left waiting for his first Premier League start. He has in fairness appeared in plenty of Premier League matchday squads - and leads the way in appearances made for players aged under 18 this season.

Ngumoha had played nine times in the top flight for the Reds - not a bad total by any means - but the breakdown in minutes paints a different picture.

Although the former Chelsea youth has been in and around the first team - with fans begging for more game time to come his way - Ngumoha has so far played LESS than 90 PL minutes in total.

He is of course ahead of the other contenders in his age group for minutes - including Harry Howell of Brighton and Max Dowman of Arsenal.

But is it enough?

Slot pleads his case over Ngumoha game time

Cody Gakpo would appear to be an automatic pick for Slot on the left side of attack - and it doesn’t matter how ordinary his displays are.

Ngumoha can’t get a look in when it comes to starts - leaving Slot to talk up the paltry minutes he’s sent his way thus far.

"I don't think there is an 18-year-old or 19-year-old that has maybe played as many minutes as Rio but that last bit I'm not sure about," Slot said after the teenager’s game-changing performance against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"That tells you how much of a talent he is and we think he is. He is making progress more and more and that's why you see him playing more and more. He gets stronger and stronger.

"For him to show this already at 17 years of age, it says something about his talent. But as we all know, talent is only the start of his career, you need so many other things."

Liverpool are due to pay up to £6.8m for Ngumoha - who signed for the club as a 15-year-old in 2024. He is supposed to be a generational talent - and his rapid rise through the youth ranks emphasises that status.

Slot's defence doesn't add up

Recent research from BBC Sport states that Ngumoha sits just 55th in terms of minutes played by players aged under 18 in Premier League history.

Gareth Barry had 2105 minutes before he turned 18, Wayne Rooney had 2037 and Luke Shaw managed 1950. Ngumoha is going to need a lot more trust from Slot if he is going to reach his potential.

As valuable as training with the seniors and being around the matchday squad is - what Ngumoha needs is match practice and mixing it against top-level opponents.

Slot really needs to get his facts straight. Because Ngumoha is nowhere NEAR the minutes totals for the best 18 and 19-year-old players in the Premier League this season.

At that age players are beginning to find their way as mainstays - with the likes of Mateus Mane, Eli Junior Kroupi, Josh King, Estevao to name just a few all emerging as key players for their teams.

Rayan, 19, has played three times the minutes for Bournemouth as Ngumoha has managed for Liverpool despite joining the club barely a month ago.

Slot has developed a reputation of NOT offering many minutes to young prospects - a list that includes Trey Nyoni among several talents emerging from the academy.

And Liverpool’s “young” players - like Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz - are actually seasoned international players with multimillion transfers already behind them.

If Liverpool really believe in Ngumoha then Slot is going to have to let him off the leash.