Trey Nyoni has been handed a lovely 18th birthday present, with the record-breaking Liverpool prospect signing a new long-term contract at the club.
The teenager has already made six first team appearances for the Reds, although is yet to make his Premier League debut.
In February last year he made his senior debut for Liverpool in the FA Cup against Southampton and became the youngest ever player for the Reds in that tournament at 16 years 243 days.
When he came off the bench against PSV in the Champions League in January this year he became Liverpool’s youngest ever player in Europe at just 17 years and 213 days.
Clearly he is well thought of at Anfield and has been rewarded with a new long-term deal, confirmed by the club on Monday afternoon.
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A statement from the club on Monday read: ‘The midfielder, who turns 18 today, put pen to paper at the AXA Training Centre to extend his stay with the Reds, which began when he joined from Leicester City in September 2023.
‘Nyoni played for the club’s senior, U21s, U19s and U18s teams last season and has, to date, made six appearances at first-team level.
‘An England U20 international, Nyoni is the fourth-youngest debutant in Liverpool’s history after he came off the bench in an Emirates FA Cup win over Southampton in February 2024 at the age of 16 years and 243 days.’
The central midfielder has plenty of competition to deal with in the first team, with the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo all vying for places.
There are also fellow youngsters looking to break into Arne Slot’s plans, with Stefan Bajcetic and Tyler Morton looking to make an impression.
However, Nyoni was quick to catch the eye when Slot arrived on Merseyside last year, impressing the Dutchman in a friendly in America.
‘Trey did well, he was involved in the goal with a spot on pass between the lines and he was involved in our biggest chance in the second half,’ Slot said of the teenager after a win over Real Betis in Pittsburgh last summer.
‘But he’s only just turned 17 and his body still has to grow. We are really careful with him. He doesn’t join every session. You can see his quality. He needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level but he’s an interesting player.’
Jurgen Klopp on Trey Nyoni
It was Klopp who gave Nyoni his Liverpool debut, in a 3-0 win over Southampton in the FA Cup.
After the match the German praised the performance of his team and picked out the young midfielder.
‘We don’t take these things for granted, it was super difficult tonight so we deserved to go through obviously, it was a top performance from a specific moment on, it was top, top, top, I loved it a lot,’ said Klopp.
‘We should not forget that Trey came on as well – what a player he is! Oh my God.’
In December 2024 Nyoni was given his first start for the club in a 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Southampton.
On fielding young players, Slot said after the victory: ‘This club is known for this. These players train with us on a daily basis and it is nice to see they showed they can play at this level. Now the next step is to be capable of playing [regularly] for Liverpool.’
