LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, May 12, 2024: Liverpool's Trey Nyoni during the Premier League 2 Quarter-Final Play-Off match between Tottenham Hotspur FC Under-21's and Liverpool FC Under-21's at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The game ended 3-3 after extra-time, Tottenham won 5-4 on penalties. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool staff hope 16-year-old signing stays for years after he “did the lot”

Liverpool’s academy is in a very strong position at the moment and Trey Nyoni is one of the youngsters that the club have high hopes for.

Last summer, Liverpool brought in a lad from Leicester who had only just turned 16. Almost immediately, he was put into the under-18 setup, and it wasn’t too long before he was catching the eye of Jurgen Klopp.

With a first-team debut to his name and 24 appearances across all competitions, it hasn’t been a bad first year for Nyoni at Liverpool!

After his final game of the season – a defeat on penalties to Tottenham U21s – his coach, under-23 boss Barry Lewtas, spoke to reporters including Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo.

LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 25, 2024: Liverpool's Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns and Trey Nyoni celebrate with the trophy after the Football League Cup Final match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Wembley Stadium. Liverpool won 1-0 after extra-time. (Photo by Peter Powell/Propaganda)

Lewtas praised Nyoni’s move to Merseyside, saying: “Trey is fabulous. It’s a nice part of the job for me. Trey spent a short time with the U18s and then moved up, and he’s been settling into the club this season.

“You want the boys to hit the ground running straight away when they come in, and Trey did that. To his credit, it shows his mentality and how he approaches the game.”

Having made an impact at under-21 level, Nyoni trained with the senior squad multiple times in the second half of the season and impressed enough to earn a debut, coming on against Southampton in the FA Cup.

It is clear the staff remaining at Liverpool see the huge potential he possesses.

“Hopefully Trey will spend a long time at Liverpool,” Lewtas added.

“He has managed to do the lot – he settled quickly, he integrated with the group, the staff and his level of performances were really good.

“Trey is now familiar and it’ll be important he continues on the path he’s on.”

Playing mainly as an attack-minded midfielder for the under-18s, Nyoni scored three goals and produced one assist in five games before being moved upwards.

While slight in build, he has shown the raw talent to be a serious creative force. At just 16 years old still, there is ample time for him to grow into a Liverpool player capable of competing for trophies.

Nyoni is also an England U18 international and has been capped four times at that level by coach Tom Curtis.