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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha is a "special talent" and has set him the target of using his 100th-minute winner against Newcastle United as motivation to kick on again.
Ngumoha was sent on late in the game by Arne Slot and finished emphatically after a brilliant move that saw every outfield player touch the ball. When Dominik Szoboszlai dummied, it left the teenager unmarked at the back post, and he slammed a shot past Nick Pope and into the corner.
"Sixteen years old. Incredible," Van Dijk told reporters at St James' Park. "I'm very happy for him. It should motivate him even more to keep working each and every day and stay humble.
"He is in a good environment to progress. He has to look after himself and he has to learn from all of us, playing for so many years at the highest level, and take it on board and progress. That is a good target for him.
"I think if you make your Premier League debut at 16, scoring the winner, then that is a great sign of quality and being a special talent.
But I also know you have to take it game by game.
"He has to keep working hard, make sure he is staying fit, progressing, take experience, and look at what others are doing and learn from that as well.
"We have very good personalities in our team and make sure that we are all in this together. We want them to progress and get better. It is down to him first and foremost but also us as a team."
Ngumoha turns 17 later this week and will then be permitted to sign his first professional terms with Liverpool. Signed from Chelsea just over a year ago, he has been on a scholarship so far.
Working with the senior pros at Liverpool and now firmly involved in first-team training under Slot, he is learning from the best. The Reds have cleared a pathway for him — a key reason why he chose to move to Merseyside — and don't intend to block it.
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And Van Dijk believes he is on the right track so far, even if there is still plenty of development that Ngumoha needs to make to fully realize his potential.
"It starts with mentality, of course," Van Dijk said. "You have to have the right mindset. Nowadays, if you are a football player of the highest level, it takes much more than just playing on the pitch.
"You have to deal with a lot of things off the pitch as well. Mentally, physically, there are a lot of games.
"But it is a good start from him. He has to have the motivation to keep working, and hopefully he will have a fantastic career."
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