The standout piece of team news for Liverpool ahead of their Premier League clash against Brentford on Sunday afternoon revolved around one of the substitutes rather than anyone in the starting XI.
With injuries and suspension ruling out several players, a number of youngsters are included on the bench, such as Luke Chambers, Calum Scanlon, Ben Doak and James McConnell.
Also taking his place among the nine subs is Trey Nyoni, the 16-year-old who joined from Leicester’s academy during the summer and has been making waves at underage level for the Reds.
Reacting to the team news on X while sharing a previous article on the teenager, journalist Neil Jones posted: “16-year-old Trey Nyoni on the bench for Liverpool today. A quite remarkable start to the England U17 midfielder’s Reds career.”
16-year-old Trey Nyoni on the bench for Liverpool today. A quite remarkable start to the England U17 midfielder's Reds career.
I wrote this about him a couple of months ago. Never imagined we'd see him in a Premier League squad quite so soon…#LFC https://t.co/ZAfubywNDj
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) November 12, 2023
Liverpool fans keeping a close eye on the fortunes of the academy teams will already be aware of the impression Nyoni is making at that level.
He netted a hat-trick in a 10-0 pre-season friendly win over Southend and scored a sensational half-volley in a comprehensive defeat of Sunderland, while he featured for the under-21s’ earlier this week as they were beaten by Barrow’s first team.
He’s already trained with Jurgen Klopp’s senior squad, and even accounting for the spate of enforced absentees today, it’s still a huge show of faith by the manager to include the 16-year-old among the substitutes for a Premier League fixture.
It’s highly unlikely that Nyoni will be called upon this afternoon, but his mere inclusion in the matchday squad is a sure sign that his star is firmly in the ascendancy as he takes another step towards an eventual first-team debut for Liverpool.
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