Cody Gakpo makes Rio Ngumoha feelings clear as calls for Liverpool start grow
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The 17-year-old showcased his enormous potential with an influential substitute appearance in the Reds' dramatic 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.Ngumoha is yet to earn his first Premier League start for the defending champions, with the considerably more seasoned Gakpo and Mohamed Salah ahead of him in the queue for a wide position.However, he has demonstrated his ability to influence a match from the bench, and Gakpo, himself a teenage prodigy at PSV Eindhoven, has spoken in glowing terms about the youngster.READ MORE: Liverpool injury boost is coming - and it's perfect timing for Arne SlotREAD MORE: Liverpool told how Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo will react to Rio Ngumoha emergenceThe Netherlands international said: "He's a very good player at this age already and he showed that again when he came on."I think everybody's excited. We just have to wait and see what he will do in the next games when he's playing and I think it's up to him to keep improving himself in ways he can and to keep doing what he's doing to become what he thinks and what we think and what we see he can be."So, yeah, very happy to have him on the team, obviously.
I think they all help each other as well to stay calm, and he's doing that.Rio Ngumoha is put under pressure from Dilane Bakwa during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, on February 22, 2026(Image: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)"I think Trey [Nyoni] is doing that as well, and they are often together. I think that's very good for them."They don't get carried away by either good or bad things that happen, and I think that will only benefit them in the future when they're a little bit older."Ngumoha has now featured 15 times for Liverpool this season.
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