Michael Owen speaks to the ECHO about Rio Ngumoha’s Liverpool first team prospects and why Arne Slot should take the FA Cup seriously this season
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Fulham and Liverpool at Craven Cottage(Image: 2026 CameraSport)
When Liverpool welcome Barnsley to Anfield on Monday night, Rio Ngumoha will be hoping to be handed a starting opportunity by Arne Slot. It was on this day last year when the teenager made his Reds debut in the FA Cup third round against Accrington Stanley, after all.
Fast forward 12 months, and with the same stage of football’s most famous domestic cup competition having come round once again, and the forward now boasts 10 senior appearances to his name. Meanwhile, he became Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer when netting the winner against Newcastle United back in August.
But despite being just 17 years old, some Reds supporters think Slot should have used the youngster more – especially given Liverpool’s struggles in front of goal at times this season.
OPINION
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It is true that he has been used sparingly as the Reds look to manage him carefully, with their injury woes ensuring that while Ngumoha has been a regular in the Slot’s matchday squad this season, he has also been starved off minutes and missed out on academy game-time as a result.
Consequently, Liverpool will have the opportunity to hand the highly-rated youngster some valuable minutes against Barnsley and give Ngumoha the opportunity to once again stake his claim. He won’t be the only one either, with fellow teenager Trey Nyoni also in contention to come into the Reds starting XI against the Tykes as Slot weighs up his options.
But having burst onto the stage himself as a 17-year-old for Liverpool, Michael Owen, speaking to the ECHO on behalf of Casino.org where he is UK ambassador – which helps players find the best casino online options in Britain, has warned his former club against over-using the pair before they are truly ready – insisting they are not yet better than the senior alternatives available to Slot despite supporter hype.
“In time, maybe (they will be good enough to start more). At the minute, they have got to do their apprenticeship a little bit,” Owen said. “Training with the first team is going to help them being part of that squad, bringing them on for game time.
“But are they better than (Alexander) Isak? Are they better than (Mohamed) Salah? Are they better than (Hugo) Ekitike? No. These are players that might come on as an impact player at the moment. Very good players, yes.
“Are they the next Wayne Rooney coming through? No. Could they play for Liverpool permanently in the future? Maybe.
“They’ve got to carve out a career for themselves. Hopefully it’s at Liverpool. But should they be playing from the start? Are they better than some of the great players at Liverpool have got? No, they’re not at the minute.
“So that suggests that I would think that their careers are going to be continuing on this path. And if they keep doing well and keep playing better and better, then they’ll get more and more minutes and eventually it might justify starts.
“But certainly not at the moment, ahead of players that have won Premier Leagues and been the best players in the world for years and years and things like that. They’re miles off that at the moment.”
One of the reasons why supporters have wanted to see more of Ngumoha in the Liverpool first team is due the Reds’ current lack of options in attack.
Mohamed Salah is away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, while Alexander Isak is a long-term absentee after suffering a fractured leg last month against Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, the Reds have also been without Hugo Ekitike for their last two outings after he suffered a hamstring injury, with the absence of the trio also leaving Liverpool lacking pace.
Slot has had to be creative as a result, with Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz having both been turned to upfront while Jeremie Frimpong has been utilised on the right-wing.
And while Owen has been impressed by Frimpong, he is not convinced that Gakpo can be a long-term solution upfront.
“No, he can’t play upfront regularly,” Owen said. “He can do a job. Obviously, he scored a good goal (against Fulham).
“But there were one or two occasions when I was pulling my hair. I’m thinking he should have done something more because I covered the match.
“He can be an adequate replacement while people are out injured or whatever. But no, he’s not a natural centre forward.
“Who’d have thought it? In the summer, everybody said, ‘oh, they’re buying so many players and they’ve got so much money spent and all the rest of it’.
“However, you get one player away on international duty and a couple of injuries, and all of a sudden you’ve not got a centre forward. You’ve not got those options that you probably require.
“You could say Frimpong can play that role reasonably naturally, but in general, I’d say he’s a wing-back.
“So you’re pushing him into a position that he wouldn’t normally play for Liverpool, let’s say. You wouldn’t be playing Wirtz as a centre forward or off the left, ideally. I think he’s a number 10, really.
“So you’re pushing a few players into positions that maybe that’s not their best. Despite spending a couple of hundred million on attacking players, it’s mad.
“But that’s how injuries go. That’s how football goes, and they’re going to have to make the best of it.
“I don’t think Mo Salah will be away much longer, and I don’t think Ekitike’s injury is too bad. So hopefully it’s only short-term.”
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One of Owen’s finest moments during his own career came in the FA Cup, when his late brace against Arsenal earned Liverpool victory in the 2001 final as Gerard Houllier’s side went on to clinch a cup treble.
Now 25 years on, the 46-year-old concedes the tournament is no longer as glamorous to sides as it once was.
But with Slot’s Reds already out of the League Cup and seeing their Premier League title defence go up in smoke, Owen has urged his former club to take the FA Cup seriously this season.
And having seen their League Cup campaign ended prematurely after Slot named a youthful, much-changed side, Owen is adamant that the Dutchman should not do the same against Barnsley – even if it means Ngumoha and Nyoni are denied starting opportunities.
“Looking at the FA Cup, the way that Liverpool’s season has gone, the FA Cup is going to have to take more relevance,” he said. “It’s going to have to take more importance.
“So, I don’t think Liverpool should be playing all their reserve players and risk getting knocked out of that. They can only win two trophies this season, realistically.
“I’d be lying if I said the FA Cup has got the same blitz and glamour to it as what it used to have. The Premier League, the Champions League have risen, and they are now the dream ticket for every club.
“So the FA Cup has taken a back seat, sad to say. But the competition actually can have a little bit more importance depending on how your season is going.
“When you get to the latter stages of it, it becomes amazing and everybody wants to play at Wembley and lift the trophy. And it’s fantastic. But I think people possibly give it a little bit less respect in the earlier stages.
“But with a team like Liverpool that are out of the Carabao Cup, that probably can’t win the league now, the only two bits of silver where they can win are the Champions League and the FA Cup.
“Now, if I was on Slot, I wouldn’t be messing about playing the reserves and things like that. I would be going full throttle to try to win that trophy because that now becomes even more important than it normally would.”