Is it time for Rio Ngumoha to start for Liverpool? Steven Gerrard's comments debated

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Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard has called for the Reds to give Rio Ngumoha a starting berth in the coming weeks, but is he correct?Emotions were running high in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool's defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday, but through the fume came a simple demand from Steven Gerrard."He has to start [Rio] Ngumoha now," the legendary former Reds captain told TNT Sports."He has to start him because he’s coming on and he’s doing more in a short cameo in a short space of time than [Cody] Gakpo’s doing in 65, 70 minutes. ‘He deserves to start now. He’s got to start the kid on Friday night [in the FA Cup]."Regardless of your opinion on Gakpo, it is a big statement when a man of Gerrard's stature calls on the Liverpool manager to pick a 17-year-old in his starting XI.

But is Rio Ngumoha really ready to embrace the Liverpool first team, warts and all, on a more regular basis?Ask the player himself, as the ECHO did when speaking to him at Nottingham Forest, and he is unequivocal: "I just need to keep pushing and keep gaining the manager's trust and hopefully that leads to more minutes. It must be remembered that Ngumoha doesn't turn 18 until August but the second trip to Molineux this week is the perfect time to give the likes of Gerrard, Carragher and everyone else making that same demand what they are after.Mark JonesThere are several reasons why you can criticise Arne Slot for what has unfolded this season, but I’m largely on board with how he’s handled Rio Ngumoha.It was obvious from pre-season that the teenager was going to have an impact, but you have to be careful with young players when integrating them into your senior setup.

He's also often been horribly out of form.In that world then it probably is time to throw caution to the wind with Ngumoha and give him a go, starting with the return to Molineux on Friday. Galatasaray away might be a noisy bridge too far for him, but at home to a creaking Tottenham Hotspur surely isn't.It has been the correct approach to blood Ngumoha slowly, but this is a Reds side now crying out for pace and dynamism in wide areas, and right now he is the best solution to that problem regardless of his age.Gerrard's comments might well have garnered plenty of attention, but he was speaking from the heart.