View: Sky is the limit for Liverpool youth gem after what Arne Slot said yesterday
Arne Slot has name-dropped Trey Nyoni as the standout youth star from the Liverpool AXA academy.
The Dutchman held his Brentford pre-match press conference on Friday [23 August] and addressed the ongoing exodus of the Reds’ academy stars.
Bobby Clark completed a move to RB Salzburg on Thursday 23 August [BBC Sport] while Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg will be in the opposition dugout for the match at Anfield on Sunday [25 August].
“That’s always a difficult one because young players want to play as well and if they want to develop they have to play. It’s always like this,” Slot said in the press conference. “They come through the ranks of the youth academy and either then you’re good enough to play for us many minutes or you’re still not there, or there’s too much competition in your position.
“I think still this team, with what we have, have a lot of homegrown players. One of them – Trey Nyoni – is also training with us on a daily basis, but [is] only 17.”
Liverpool highly rate Trey Nyoni
Amid the chaos at the AXA Training Centre, it is a testament to the ability of Nyoni, that he stands to be the sole survivor of the academy players to play under Jurgen Klopp last season and training with the first team under Slot.
Clark, Carvalho, and Van den Berg have already left the Reds on permanent deals whereas Lewis Koumas and Kaide Gordon have left the club on loan and the future remains uncertain for Ben Doak, Stefan Bajcetic, and James McConnell.
Nyoni was the beneficiary of the Copa America and Euro 2024 tournaments, the absence of the senior members of the squad gave him the perfect opportunity to impress Slot throughout pre-season and he took his chance with both hands.
The 17-year-old missed out on the matchday squad against Ipswich Town and will most likely be absent from the first team until the early stages of the Carabao Cup roll around.
However, he will be in and around the first-team squad and learning his trade from Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Wataru Endo.
Liverpool have plenty of depth in midfield but last season showed how easily the injuries can creep up on this Reds side and Nyoni will be waiting in the wings to grasp any opportunity that comes his way.
There must be a big plan for Nyoni at Liverpool this season otherwise Slot would have sanctioned his sale along with the other exiled youth stars.
In other Liverpool news, a former director has revealed the Reds’ transfer plan ahead of the 30 August deadline.
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