“You have to be a big star, and he’s showing that he's got the capabilities. If you look at the players that have been before him from my era, your Robbie Fowlers and your Michael Owens, he's got a lot to live up to. But he's showing he's got it and it's only his first game so to get through so much of the match as well, he did really well. As a 16-year-old, you usually get a cramp, but he looked ok,” Heskey adds with a chuckle, knowing only too well what it takes to make a debut that young.
The former Liverpool striker made his first team debut at the tender age of 17 for Leicester City, while Rio Ngumoha became Liverpool’s youngest ever player in the FA Cup, when Arne Slot added him to the line up against Accrington Stanley.
“I've seen him for a while now and I thought he was fantastic. Young players especially are going to be in awe of the surroundings and whatnot. But no, he played his game, he played really well. He's a tricky winger, full of skills. He did what he needed to do and It's great that Liverpool, a huge club like that, can give young players like a 16-year-old debuts like that. It's fantastic. I thought he handled it really well, getting at players, showing his skills, showing that he's a ball carrier and a chance creator,” says Heskey in full-on admiration for the youngster who arrived from Chelsea last season.
It was Liverpool’s second Cup game of the week, following defeat at Spurs in the EFL Cup-semifinal, first leg, and Arne Slot made wholesale changes to the line-up. Changes one might have thought he’d make for the Tottenham game, but Emile Heskey understands why the Dutchman fielded a strong Liverpool-side.
“When you can get a head start on winning trophies, it gives you a boost, especially in the run-in towards the end of the season where they're trying to win the league as well. It would also be amazing for Arne Slot to already win his first trophy in his first season as well, so I understand he’s reasoning behind it,” says Heskey, who knows what he’s talking about, when saying it gives everyone a boost. Heskey won the EFL Cup no less than four times during his career, twice with Leicester City and twice with Liverpool.
Leicester squad not good enough
Strong team or not, The Reds ended up losing the game against Tottenham, and Heskey believes the squad could do with a bit of strengthening at the back in the January transfer window.
“I think (Ibrahima) Konaté has been fantastic, he's so reliable when balls are getting played in behind because he's so quick but he looked a little bit leggy in his first game back against Man United, so I think they should be looking at adding something at the back just in case they get any further injuries,” Heskey speculates before turning his attention to Leicester City and their latest managerial assignment, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“I don’t think the squad is strong enough to stay in the league. So, it was going to be a tough ask for whoever took that job. I don't necessarily think Ruud van Nistelrooy is a bad option. I think he plays some really good football. They've changed the way they play but defensively, they're still leaking a lot of chances,” says Heskey, who wasn’t convinced about Steve Cooper, when talking to Tribalfootball at the beginning of the season.
“I don't think he was set on a style of play that suited the players he had. He went from this group of players playing a very possession-based football then suddenly you’re told to just camp out and try and hit on the break and they hadn't done that for a long time. So, it needed time, but Steve Cooper would never have had time. In the Premier League, you've arguably got five games to show that you're on the right track. If you don't show that you're on the right track, you'll be sacked within the next five games,” believes Heskey who is hoping The Foxes might bring back a familiar face already this January.
Heskey spoke very highly of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall following last promotion winning season, but the midfielder has found life at Chelsea FC too hot to handle.
“There are a lot of international players there who are suited to play the way that Enzo Maresca wants at this moment in time. I think he's even tweaked it to the way he played at Leicester and it’s going to be very hard for him to dislodge those players. I'm sure he'd love to come back to Leicester.”
- Emile Heskey was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of Instant Casino