Harvey Elliott made Rio Ngumoha promise shortly before Liverpool exit - 'Amazing future'

The Liverpool winger starred in the Reds' 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest and there is no doubting the quality the teenager possess, as Elliott outlined last summer

Harvey Elliott has already given his verdict on Rio Nguomha

Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha continues to dominate headlines following his impressive cameo against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

The winger was introduced in the latter stages at the City Ground and played a significant role in the Reds’ late surge, which resulted in Alexis Mac Allister netting an injury-time winner.

Ngumoha completed more dribbles and created more chances than Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo, who both started, leading to calls for the teenager to earn more minutes going forward. While Liverpool is understandably wary of affording him too many on-field, there is no denying the quality Ngumoha possesses. If further evidence is required, Harvey Elliott’s comments from last summer underline how well respected he is in the Liverpool locker room.

Ngumoha starred in pre-season and was arguably the Reds’ best performer from those summer fixtures. He earned raved reviews for his showing against AC Milan in Hong Kong, with Elliott praising his then team-mate after the game.

“He's fearless. He showed that today against AC Milan, one of Europe's big teams. He was like a kid in the park, although he is a kid,” the on-loan Aston Villa midfielder told LFCTV in July.

“He just needs to keep going, and we'll try as much as we can to try and help him out. I think if he keeps on performing as he is and working hard as he is, then the kid has got an amazing future.

“I'm really excited to see where things go, and hopefully he can be really successful.

Ngumoha starred in the win over Forest(Image: Getty Images)

“There are not many 16 or 17-year-olds [in the team], and he is in because he is incredible at his age and he is able to handle it. We can all see his quality, and he just needs to keep working hard and keep going.

“In the upcoming years, hopefully, he can show the world, and especially everyone at Liverpool, why he is so highly rated.”

Ngumoha has played 15 competitive games since his summer heroics, but just two have been starts. They both came in the domestic cup competitions, and there is a growing clamor to see the ex-Chelsea academy star named in a Premier League line-up.

However, Arne Slot has remained cautious on that front, with the Reds keen to avoid the injuries setbacks several other high-profile youngsters such as Stefan Bajcetic and Jayden Danns have suffered in recent years.

Nguomha has had to be patient for his playing opportunities this season(Image: Getty Images)

“He has incredible potential, otherwise, at 17 years of age, you don’t play as many minutes as he does in the Premier League, let alone at Liverpool,” Slot said after Sunday’s win over Forest.

“I don’t think there is any other 17-year-old who has played as many minutes in the Premier League as he did. I don't think there is an 18-year-old or 19-year-old that has maybe played as many minutes as Rio.

“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. Apart from his moment when he had his one-v-one, there were also one or two other moments where he stands his ground.

“That is what you need because you face 25, 26, 27, 28-year-old athletes mainly as your opponents, because we are a bit of an exception in terms of the age of our group of players.”