Cody Gakpo makes Rio Ngumoha feelings clear as calls for Liverpool start grow

Calls are growing for Rio Ngumoha to be handed his first Premier League start at Liverpool after he impressed once again from the bench against Nottingham Forest

Cody Gakpo has made his feelings clear as calls grow for Rio Ngumoha to start for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Cody Gakpo has revealed that the entire Liverpool squad is buzzing about teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha. The 17-year-old showcased his enormous potential with an influential substitute appearance in the Reds' dramatic 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Ngumoha is yet to earn his first Premier League start for the defending champions, with the considerably more seasoned Gakpo and Mohamed Salah ahead of him in the queue for a wide position.

However, he has demonstrated his ability to influence a match from the bench, and Gakpo, himself a teenage prodigy at PSV Eindhoven, has spoken in glowing terms about the youngster.

The Netherlands international said: "He's a very good player at this age already and he showed that again when he came on.

"I think everybody's excited. We just have to wait and see what he will do in the next games when he's playing and I think it's up to him to keep improving himself in ways he can and to keep doing what he's doing to become what he thinks and what we think and what we see he can be.

"So, yeah, very happy to have him on the team, obviously. It's nice.

"He's a great character. I think all the other players at the moment who are young and training with us are very good characters. I think they all help each other as well to stay calm, and he's doing that.

Rio Ngumoha is put under pressure from Dilane Bakwa during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, on February 22, 2026(Image: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"I think Trey [Nyoni] is doing that as well, and they are often together. I think that's very good for them.

"They don't get carried away by either good or bad things that happen, and I think that will only benefit them in the future when they're a little bit older."

Ngumoha has now featured 15 times for Liverpool this season. The England youth international would likely have made more appearances had it not been for the Reds' earlier struggles in the campaign, when Arne Slot was reluctant to expose him to the difficulties of the autumn period, reports the Liverpool Echo.

During that spell, Slot's side suffered nine defeats from 12 matches, including five in the Premier League, which has essentially ended their hopes of retaining the title.

In the 20 fixtures since, they have lost just twice whilst progressing in the Champions League and FA Cup, and positioning themselves firmly in contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

However, Gakpo, who is within two goals of reaching 50 for the Reds, acknowledges it has not been a straightforward season.

"We were too inconsistent at times; to play one good game and then the level dropped significantly the next game," the 26-year-old said in a Q&A with the club's official website ahead of Saturday's home clash with West Ham United.

"But I think the last few weeks were better performance-wise and result-wise, if you exclude the last game as a performance.

Cody Gakpo is just two goals away from making it 50 for Liverpool(Image: Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates /Getty Images)

"I hope we can keep this momentum that we have a little bit with keeping clean sheets and winning the games - and to also perform better - to end the season in a good flow and then at the end of the season we can really assess how everything went.

"As it stands now I think everybody will agree with me that it's not the place where we would put ourselves at the beginning of the season, if you look at last season where we won the league and we were, in my opinion, very consistent in doing all the things on the pitch, also result-wise but also how we performed as a team, as an individual, as a unit.

"But unfortunately that's also sometimes part of football that this happens. I think we are now in a better place than we were before and, like I said, we have to keep on building and stay together."