By Damon Forsythe

Questions have followed Arne Slot all season: does he truly trust youth, or does he lean too heavily on experience? With Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni waiting in the wings, and the team's position in FA Cup offering a natural opening, the debate has only grown louder. Slot insists the balance is about timing, load management and protecting young talent rather than holding them back.

Rio Ngumoha’s Lack of Minutes

Credit: Liverpool.com

Following Ngumoha’s game changing substitute cameo against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. It begs the question to be asked again, does the Dutch manager give enough minutes to the academy? Because as fixtures pile up and options thin out, his selections could finally offer a clearer answer.

In all competitions this season the 17-year-old winger has featured for Reds 15 times, completing 375 minutes.  In all those appearances the youngster has shown he is ready for first team action. His direct dribbling, pace and skill is starting to become a massive issue for premier league defenders on either wing.  

With Mohamed Salah not scoring in his last nine premier league games and Cody Gakpo on the opposite flank underperforming. The fans are starting to worry a little bit. And it has also to do with the results. The Reds managed to scrape a 1-0 win out of the game but that's not the Liverpool-way.

Trey Nyoni Suffering From the Slot Way

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Rio is not the only instance where Arne Slot has not used the younger players in the squad.  Someone who also features heavily on the bench is midfielder Trey Nyoni, the 18-year-old has only made seven appearances for Liverpool this season.  

Nyoni has only been used for a total of two minutes in the premier league, three in the FA Cup and 23 in the Champions League.  It is clear Slot knows he is not using the prodigy enough; he apologised to Nyoni in a press conference following a 4-1 win over Barnsley.

"But at 2-1 I thought I had to make the substitutions to win the game instead of giving a young player who is training every day so hard and is such a big talent the playing time he might deserve."

He added, "I thought, ‘Let’s bring Ryan in first’, and that all had to do with us conceding the 2-1, because usually a game like this should go to three and then maybe more."

Untouched Academy Potential

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Liverpool have so many upcoming talents sitting in the academy right now who will also feel they have deserved their chance to play this season. 

Kieran Morrison is on fire for the U21s at the moment scoring 11 times in Premier League 2, the second most out of anyone, and has also provided 3 assists. He is another player whose minutes have been very limited this season, only making one appearance this season which was in the EFL cup against Crystal Palace. 

Keyrol Figueroa is another example, the American is currently injured but despite that is still sat on ten goals in Premier League 2 and was fit for the early round fixtures in the cups. 

Slot has not given him any minutes this season for the first team, even though he was the top goalscorer for the U21s when he was fit. Alas, this unhappiness of not getting the minutes is spreading throughout the youth camp.

Trent Koné-Doherty: Another Unsatisfied Youngster

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The latest member of the youth team to fallout from Slot's Liverpool is Trent Kone-Doherty. The Reds are set to lose him, after the Republic of Ireland international seems to have rejected the club's latest contract offer. It is rumoured that Norwegian side Molde FK have made an offer to the winger that will see him a part of the first team set up.

The 19-year-old has only made two appearances for the club since joining from Derry City in 2022 but has been making a lot of progress with his numbers within the U18s and U21s.

If Doherty’s move was to materialise, it won't be anything new for Liverpool fans. As they have seen this movie before.

Last Season's Mistakes

We started to see these signs from Slot when he joined last season, Tyler Morton was someone who sat on the fringes of the squad the previous year.  The English midfielder was barely used, with the Liverpool manager only selecting him on 6 occasions. 

Following his £15 million move to Lyon in the summer, Morton is now a regular first team player. Playing 31 games for the French side, scoring twice and getting three assists in all competitions.  

Looking back at the Liverpool exit, the 23-year-old said: “I think he thought I was a good player, but I don’t feel the trust was there as much. In my opinion, the limited opportunities were down to trust and not ability.”

Another example from the previous year would be Jarell Quansah, he is a player that was frequently used by Jurgen Klopp, but his game time was massively impacted when Slot walked through the door.  

The Reds sold the young defender for £35 million to Bayer Leverkusen but do retain a buy back clause for the England international.  Quansah has been a shining light for Leverkusen this season, featuring in 31 games and starting in nine of their 10 Champions League games, helping them reach the round of 16.  With Liverpool's centre back problems this year, Quansah would have been a great player to bring into the squad for rotation. 

Credit: BBC

Harvey Elliott is someone that has come out the worst from Slot’s reluctance to play younger players. Elliott featured quite frequently under Klopp. Now, all of a sudden, he had his minutes limited and his growth stunned. Often thought of by the fans as an impact substitute, who can make a difference whenever he comes on to the pitch.

Back in July 2025, Elliott even commented on his future, saying: "If I had it my way I would be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that."

The manager chose not to place his faith in him at the start of the season, a decision that ultimately led to the 22-year-old, already 149 appearances into his Liverpool career, joining Aston Villa with a £35 million buy option.

The move has since come with complications for the midfielder, none directly attributable to Slot, but greater trust within the squad might have altered the course of his Anfield future.

Verdict