Liverpool have always had a reputation for trusting young players with first-team duties, and things are no different under Andoni Iraola.

This season players like Trey Nyoni, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas have grown under the Spaniard to become regular fixtures in the first team.

The trio have all seen their minutes increased, but there is one teenage star who is a fully-fledged Red now, Rio Ngumoha.

Already, the 18-year-old has played just shy of half (~47%) of the minutes he managed last season and, after a dominating performance in the Champions League against Villareal, comparisons are being made to an iconic former Red.

Liverpool have the next Raheem Sterling

Ngumoha's performances for the Reds this season have drawn many comparisons, but one of the most interesting is Raheem Sterling.

The 82-capped England international may have peaked at Manchester City, but he was once the league's most exciting young talent whilst at Anfield.

Now, former Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa scout, Bryan King has highlighted the similarities between the two forwards.

Speaking to Football Insider, King said: "He reminds me a little bit of Sterling. He runs at defenders. He's got pace. He's good with the ball. I look at him and I think, 'Christ, that's a bit like Sterling when he first came onto the scene'."

The similarities are clear to see, and Rio's trajectory is massively exciting, but the wonderkid still has some work to do to match Sterling's Liverpool career.

At 20-years-old Sterling swapped Merseyside for Manchester, joining City in a £49 million deal, but before that he made 129 appearances for Liverpool.

In those 129 matches, Sterling scored 23 times and provided 18 assists, playing a total of 9,297 minutes for the Reds.

Ngumoha has already made 39 appearances for the club, playing 1,468 minutes and scoring twice whilst assisting three times.

Based on Rio's current output, the 18-year-old would have 13 goals and 19 assists by the time he reaches Sterling's total minutes, but if the starlet can keep improving like he has done in the last 12 months then he will better those totals considerably.

Comparisons to Sterling are of course exciting, but Liverpool will be hoping they can keep hold of Ngumoha for much longer.