‘Special’ Liverpool wonderkid fast-tracked to SEIZE Szoboszlai’s role
By
Sam McGuire
Sam McGuire
Trey Nyoni put pen to paper on his first professional deal with Liverpool earlier in the week.
The 17-year-old joined the Reds a little over a year ago, rejecting advances from elsewhere to make the move to Anfield from Leicester City. At the time, it was viewed as a coup for Liverpool. If Nyoni fulfils his potential, he could be one of the best in the world.
People think that highly of the youngster.
He made his debut for Liverpool last season in the FA Cup against Southampton and was heavily involved in pre-season under new boss Arne Slot.
The versatile midfielder changed the game against Real Betis after coming off the bench. He was even namechecked by the Dutch tactician in his post-match interview.
"It [Liverpool improving] started with a player who came on [Nyoni] who speeded up the game for us a lot, he found these players in between the lines a lot of times, that's the quality we needed in those No6 positions.”
He then scored against Sevilla. The pre-season friendlies did his stock no harm at all. Nyoni did enough to convince Slot that he could play a part in the Liverpool squad this season. He made the bench recently for the Champions League clash with Bologna and Slot has, again, spoken out about the 17-year-old midfielder and how the club intend to nurture his talent.
“That’s why he played in Milan also with the Under-19s because for him to develop, he needs to train with us and he needs to keep having his playing time at the highest possible level."
Arne Slot
The fact Nyoni remained with the Reds this summer is quite telling.
After all, a number of Jurgen Klopp’s kids were culled during the summer transfer window. Bobby Clark and Stefan Bajcetic joined Pep Lijnders in Austria. The former joined Red Bull Salzburg on a permanent deal while the latter is there on a season-long loan.
Ben Doak joined Middlesbrough on loan while Lewis Koumas made the move to Stoke City for the 2024/25 campaign. Had it not been for injuries, James McConnell and Jayden Danns would’ve also been loaned out.
Liverpool wanted to keep a close eye on Nyoni. They clearly rate him highly and believe there’s a future first-teamer there.
That opportunity may come sooner rather than later.
While Nyoni was deployed in a double pivot against Real Betis during pre-season, he’s primarily a midfielder who likes to attack. The Reds have an abundance of middle-third options but the right profiles are at a premium in this current squad.
Dominik Szoboszlai has made himself an integral part of the Slot system and the Reds don’t have a proper understudy for him. Harvey Elliott will likely step in but he’s completely different to the Hungary skipper meaning the Liverpool system will have to be altered when the former Fulham youngster replaces him in the XI.
Curtis Jones could play the Szoboszlai role but he keeps picking up knocks and niggles. He’s also a little more conservative, both in and out of possession. We’re yet to really see how Slot views his No17. He might be someone who fills in for Alexis Mac Allister in a double pivot rather than a player who can help alleviate the strain on the former RB Leipzig midfielder.
With Ryan Gravenberch now a fully-fledged No6 for Liverpool, there’s a space in the squad for another No8. And this could well be filled by Nyoni.
If all goes to plan, the youngster, labelled as 'special' by Klopp, could soon leapfrog Elliott and Jones in the pecking order. If he packs on a bit of muscle and manages to avoid injuries during this development period, there’s no reason he can’t be Szoboszlai’s relief in the short term and his rival in the long term.
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