Rio Ngumoha‘s impact on Liverpool’s pre-season “gives energy to the team,” says Arne Slot, who is delighted with his progress despite still having “learning points.”Ngumoha scored his second goal of pre-season – and his first in front of a crowd – when he made it 3-1 in Liverpool’s comfortable win over Yokohama F. Marinos.It capped another impressive showing from the 16-year-old, who replaced Cody Gakpo for the final 27 minutes in Japan’s Nissan Stadium.There has been considerable hype around Ngumoha’s performances so far in pre-season and it is easy to see why, though while Slot is a big admirer of his No. 73 he knows there is still work to be done. “Rio, again, showed the quality he has and that’s nice for us,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference.“We have a lot of very good players, but to get some very good players through the academy is always helpful, always gives energy to a team as well.“It’s always nice to see young players from 16, 17 or 18 years old already impacting a game.“But there was also a moment in the game where he should have squared it to Macca or Curtis, so also learning points for him.“But if you are 16 and you can impact the game like he did, that’s definitely worth a compliment.”Ngumoha is likely to stay with Liverpool’s first team for the remainder of pre-season and the Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace at Wembley next month.He may not be the only youngster involved either, with Slot keen to highlight the performance of fellow goalscorer Trey Nyoni, 18, as a number of his substitutes made an impact.“He wasn’t the only one who impacted the game from the bench, because Trey Nyoni – also a youngster – scored, assisted by Jeremie Frimpong,” the head coach explained.“In the first goal I think Curtis Jones played a big part by winning the ball in the midfield.”While pre-season is often an opportunity for youngsters to pick up minutes before rejoining the academy sides or heading out on loan, there is a sense that this summer is different.Ngumoha and Nyoni are still expected to turn out for Liverpool’s U21s in 2025/26, as well as the U19s in the UEFA Youth League, but the teenagers could also be given more first-team exposure.It would be remiss to get carried away with their performances in a handful of friendlies – but there is little denying the impression they are making.