Liverpool told how Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo will react to Rio Ngumoha emergence

Liverpool needs more from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo in the next few games, with Rio Ngumoha offering plenty of excitement last weekend when he came off the bench

Rio Ngumoha replaced Mohamed Salah as Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool wingers Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo have been tipped to up their game as a result of the strong performance off the bench by Rio Ngumoha against Nottingham Forest.

Ngumoha impressed as Alexis Mac Allister scored a late winner at the City Ground, with pundits and ex-Liverpool stars Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Carragher among those to call on Arne Slot to use the 17-year-old more often.

One-time England manager Sam Allardyce says excitement over Ngumoha is only natural, but he should be slowly brought into the fold at Liverpool — something the Anfield side has stuck to so far.

"It’s easier to bring him in and build his confidence that way, rather than putting him in from the start and maybe it doesn’t work," Allardyce said on his No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.

"So, you know, build his confidence nice and slow so that the players who are not playing that well at this moment in time, then the manager will make the ultimate decision in the end.

"But the players will be looking over the shoulder and saying, 'I need to lift my game up if this lad’s coming because he’s going to take my place'.

"I don’t disagree with bringing him off the subs bench, and I think that it’s a great way of feeding him in.

Rio Ngumoha has impressed this season(Image: Getty Images)

"If he’s getting the praise for it and people have started pushing for him to start, then that’s great. But maybe the coach thinks not quite yet."

In recent times, there have been plenty of examples of Liverpool players who have struggled after playing too much too soon, including Stefan Bajcetic and Jayden Danns.

Slot has therefore been cautious with Ngumoha and will continue to stick on that path with the teenager.

"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," the Liverpool boss 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.

"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."

Liverpool.com says: Ngumoha is very talented but this is much more than just about the next few games. Liverpool has to balance the needs of now and the future, so it will continue to be careful.