Arne Slot already explained why Rio Ngumoha is being made to wait for more Liverpool chances

Rio Ngumoha made a big impression as he came off the bench for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, with Arne Slot having a clear plan for the 17-year-old

Rio Ngumoha impressed off the bench for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest.(Image: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Even though he was only on the field for a little more than a quarter of Liverpool's win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, it would be fair to say that Rio Ngumoha staked a claim for more opportunities.

Ngumoha has appeared in 15 senior games this season, but only for a combined total of fewer than 400 minutes. And with Cody Gakpo struggling for form, the case for the teenager is only growing.

"Every time I watch Rio Ngumoha, he looks electric," Daniel Sturridge posted on social media, echoing the thoughts of plenty of fans. "Direct, fearless, always trying to affect the game. He deserves more minutes. Simple as that."

Arne Slot, though, has already explained why he hasn't turned to the youngster more often over the last few months — and not just because it would have been completely unfair to throw him in and hope that he could be the saviour at various low points.

"I think I said last time already that for his age, I think he has the most minutes of all 17-year-olds in the Premier League," Slot outlined in December.

"That tells you how much playing time he gets, how special that already is for a 17-year-old.

"That also tells you something about his quality because it's not completely normal for a 17-year-old already to have so much playing time as he had. But it also tells you something about the availability in those areas.

Rio Ngumoha has had to be patient for his chances with Liverpool this season(Image: Getty Images)

"For the weekend (the 2-1 win over Wolves), that's not the biggest concern, that position, I would say. Hopefully Cody [Gakpo] is back, I'm not sure but hopefully, Federico [Chiesa] can play there, Florian [Wirtz] can play there.

"If he would be a player that would play in a different position, he would probably have even more chance to come in. But it's the same for all the other players.

"I think in the game against Tottenham, I had four U21 players on the bench, so that increases the chance for him to come in as well. So, let's see."

A month later, Slot pointed to the likes of Stefan Bajcetic and Jayden Danns, who are both sidelined at the moment — and have been for some time — in part because they were over-relied on too early in their careers.

"If I’m correct, [Danns] is one of the players who got a stress fracture because he was young and, from what I’ve been told, was a bit overtrained," Slot explained.

"That’s why we are so careful with Rio Ngumoha, that he’s two days a week off the pitch if that’s possible, to not have that same situation with him."

Going further back, Wayne Rooney didn't play as long as he might have having started playing senior soccer so early. Raheem Sterling, who is only 31, hasn't played at the top level for some time and is now on loan at Feyenoord.

So for all that Ngumoha is exciting, Liverpool has to balance his future prospects with an immediate need. The Reds have to improve over the next six months, but that can't be at the cost of Ngumoha's next six years.