The first steps of Rio Ngumoha as a Premier League player could not have been more secure.
Liverpool dishes in their title defense this season, however, no one on the red half of Merseyside will forget that the Teenage-Vleugel player announced to the world in the dying seconds of a loaded match in Newcastle last month, fought a first finish to give Arne Slot a dramatic late victory.
It was a time to enjoy Ngumoha, who needed four minutes to write his name in Anfield-Folklore after his introduction as a replacement for the stopping time, and he became the youngest score in the history of Liverpool and the fourth year in the Premier League-on the age of 16 and 361 days.
No one was more impressed than Mohamed Salah, whose cross created a goal that, in his calmness and self -confidence, wore echoes from the person scored by Michael Owen, the player Ngumoha transported as the most youthful goalsmaker of the club, on his competition debut in Wimbledon in 1997.
‘I am glad he didn’t have much time to think about it’
“I think he had a great finish, he finished the ball very well,” said Salah, who only chases Ian Rush and Roger Hunt among the most productive goal scorers of Liverpool. “I’m glad he didn’t have much time to think about it, because I think if he had done that, he would miss it.”
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Salah knows better than most, what it is like to wear the praise at a young age. Praised as “the Egyptian Messi” when he came to Chelsea from Basel at the age of 21, he struggled under Jose Mourinho for playing time and was lent to Fiorentina and Roma, of whom the latter signed on a permanent contract in the summer of 2016.
The fact that Salah has forged a path from Chelsea’s Egyptian Messi to the Egyptian king of Liverpool is everything to be due to dedication, humility and ruthless focus – qualities that he has urged Ngumoha, now 17, to give priority while continuing his professional journey.
“He’s still so young,” Salah said the Men in Blazer’s Podcast. “I told him after the game:” Leave the social media alone. Ok, you can be happy with the goal with your family, with your friends. Enjoy the moment to the maximum, because it is just like your first moments in football, but you are not really engaged and your appreciation of the outside world, because it will always be fake. “
‘Rio Ngumoha must work hard and just stay humble ‘
“What future is waiting for him? It depends on how he will tackle the situation, it depends on how he will work. He has to work hard and just stay humble because he is very young. I told him that some players peak too early and then struggle.”
If a warning story was needed in that respect, it was taken care of by the career of Owen, who became a regular starter in the season after his debut, but had sustained a hamstring injury within two years, which marked the beginning of what he has since described as “a slow, painful decline”.
With that in mind it was remarkable that Slot opposed the temptation to introduce Ngumoha as a late replacement against Arsenal last Sunday, when Liverpool had to wait until seven minutes from time to score the winning goal. The teenager seems to be in good hands.
“He has a good group and we always try to talk to him,” added Salah, “and the manager also speaks to him. He just has to stay humble and work, and we will see.”
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