Lionel Messi made Rio Ngumoha feelings clear as Arne Slot faces big decision

Rio Ngumoha is doing his reputation no harm as calls grow for him to be given more opportunities at Liverpool, and the young winger already has the seal of approval from Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has already paid a huge compliment to Rio Ngumoha(Image: Getty Images)

As endorsements go, you can’t ask for much more than Lionel Messi - so it’s no wonder that Rio Ngumoha is causing plenty of excitement.

Calls are growing for the 17-year-old to be given more opportunities at Liverpool, with his latest cameo off the bench making quite the impact after the Reds claimed a last-gasp victory over Nottingham Forest.

Although it was Alexis Mac Allister that grabbed the eventual winner at the City ground, Ngumoha has been lauded for the effect he made on the game, even managing to outshine most of his senior teammates in the 20 or so minutes he was on the pitch.

Arne Slot is now facing calls to start the teenager, with Jamie Carragher and Daniel Sturridge among those demanding more minutes for Ngumoha.

Liverpool fans have long known about the talent the youngster possesses, but his reputation reaches far beyond Anfield, and has even come to the attention of arguably the greatest soccer player of all time.

Earlier this season, Ngumoha was given the ultimate seal of approval after featuring in an Adidas advert featuring Messi. The commercial saw the Barcelona and Argentina legend picking out a list of 10 of the world’s best young players.

Calls are growing for Rio Ngumoha to be given more opportunities after his cameo against Nottingham Forest(Image: Getty Images)

In the advert, Messi laid out a number of cards showing off the brightest young attacking talents around. Among them was Ngumoha, alongside the likes of Chelsea duo Kendry Paez and Andrey Santos, as well as Brighton’s Brajan Gruda.

Although Ngumoha’s name might not have come directly from the mouth of Messi, his association with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner speaks volumes about the talent at his disposal, and helps to explain why there is such a clamor for Slot to give him more opportunities.

Of course, the Liverpool boss does have to exercise some caution with such a young player, but he might not be able to resist the temptation to throw him in for his first Premier League start soon.

"He gets stronger and stronger," Slot said of Ngumoha after the win at Forest. "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 our age group of players. Most teams have players of different ages and physicality."

Slot added: "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, we have shown today; Macca (Mac Allister) a great example of mentality, and that is something you need to have a career at this level."