I know what Arne Slot will do with Rio Ngumoha vs Galatasaray and Liverpool fans won't like it  - opinion

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Rio Ngumoha excelled when given a rare start in the FA Cup last week, but don’t expect to see the teenager in the XI when Liverpool face Galatasaray.Alisson and Federico Chiesa will miss the game due to injury issues, further depleting Arne Slot’s ranks.However, that still won’t mean we see Ngumoha named in the starting line-up and in this case, it would actually be the right call. DISCUSS: This is not the game for Rio Ngumoha, nor for the returning Florian Wirtz 👇 Predicted XI Liverpool vs Galatasaray Why Arne Slot won’t and shouldn’t start Rio Ngumoha vs GalatasarayThere can be no denying that the 17-year-old is one of the hottest prospects in football right now.Rio Ferdinand expects Ngumoha to dominate the Premier League in the years to come, but we can’t forget he is still just a kid.Too many minutes aren’t an issue at this stage of his career, but a potential pile-on from fans could be damaging to the youngster.We know how toxic football can be, and at the moment, Liverpool as a football club are in a precarious position.

Take your pick between two of our biggest moments in recent memory 🙌 Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League Yes, they could still perhaps win the FA Cup, but the Champions League is essentially the only thing that can save this season.As a result, there is so much riding on this meeting with Galatasaray and relying on a teenager to carry you through the last-16 and beyond is a crazy amount of pressure to put on Ngumoha.Moreover, for this game specifically, Liverpool’s record in Turkey is poor, and the atmosphere is expected to be hostile.Thrusting Ngumoha straight into that after not even completing 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, you may argue, could be irresponsible.Yes, I know fans don’t want to see Cody Gakpo playing on the left yet again, but the development and welfare of Ngumoha in the long-term should be a bigger focus than this season, which is already looking beyond saving, barring a huge run in Europe.This weekend’s meeting against a seriously out-of-form Tottenham Hotspur is a different story, and I’d love to see Ngumoha back in the XI in a much less high-stakes game against a team Liverpool should be beating anyway.But I do worry what could happen to him if he starts against Galatasaray, all the pressure is put on him to produce, and then Liverpool lose one of their most important games of 2025/26.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox