Mohamed Salah already gave Rio Ngumoha advice as youngster tipped for Liverpool start

Rio Ngumoha is being backed to start more games for Liverpool after his impressive cameo against Nottingham Forest, and Mohamed Salah has already passed on some advice to the teenager

Rio Ngumoha has been tipped to start for Liverpool, potentially as a replacement for Mohamed Salah(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Calls are growing for Rio Ngumoha to start more games, and the man he could potentially replace has already given him some advice on how to deal with the expectations at Liverpool.

Ngumoha impressed after coming off the bench for the Reds against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with the 17-year-old making an instant impact as Liverpool went on to win 1-0 thanks to Alexis Mac Allister’s last-minute goal.

Jamie Carragher is among those to have lavished Ngumoha with praise for his performance, and the former Liverpool defender has called for Arne Slot to give him some opportunities from the start now.

"Ngumoha did more in 15 minutes than [Mohamed] Salah and [Cody] Gakpo did before that. He changed the game and needs to be starting games,” Carragher said.

The teenager may well get the chance to step in for one of those two players in the Reds’ upcoming games, having come off the bench - alongside Federico Chiesa - to replace the same pair at the City Ground.

Salah looked more than a little bemused at being withdrawn, and no doubt he wouldn’t be best pleased to be back on the bench again this season, having reacted angrily to being dropped a couple of months ago.

Rio Ngumoha impressed with his performance off the bench in Liverpool's win over Nottingham Forest(Image: Getty Images)

The Egyptian though has already passed on some words of wisdom to Ngumoha, which the youngster will be well served to take note of should he get his chance to shine between now and the end of the season.

"He's still so young," Salah told the Men in Blazers podcast back in September. "I told him after the game, 'Just leave the social media alone.'

"OK, you can be happy about the goal with your family, with your friends. Enjoy the moment to the max because it's like your first moments in football.

"But don't really get engaged and just get your appreciation from the outside world because it's always going to be fake. You're going to always try to seek that – that feeling from outside if you just get the appreciation from outside.

"So what future is waiting for him? It depends, how he's going to handle the situation. How are we going to work?

"I need to work hard and just stay humble because he's very young. I told him that some players peak too early and they're going to struggle after that.

"I really wish him the best. He has a good group (here around him) and we always try to speak with him – and the manager (Slot) also speaks to him, so he just need to stay humble and work and see how things go."