Liverpool have won the race to sign highly rated youngster Trey Nyoni from Leicester.
That is according to The Secret Scout who broke the news on Twitter. They claim that Liverpool have been working on
signing him for months and have finally got their man.
He is regarded as one of the best central midfielders in his age group.
The Secret Scout tweeted:
Been told Liverpool have won the race to sign England international 16-year-old Trey Nyoni from Leicester.
Liverpool been working on the deal for months. Central Midfielder one of the best in his age groups.
While focusing on strengthening their youth setup, Liverpool are also continuing their pursuit of a replacement for
midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
They are specifically targeting a defensive midfielder to bolster their already impressive midfield lineup, which includes
notable signings like Alexis Mac Alliser and Dominik Szoboszlai, both of whom have made a strong impression during pre-
season.
If Liverpool can find a suitable replacement for Fabinho, they have the potential to solidify their midfield for the foreseeable
future and further strengthen their squad for the upcoming season.
RAED NEXT:
Jurgen Klopp has given the game away about Romeo Lavia transfer after Liverpool U-turn
Jurgen Klopp has reluctantly had to play Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones as his holding midfielder for Liverpool
this pre-season
Curtis Jones was one of the stars of the European Under-21 Championship this summer, as the Liverpool midfielder built on
his promising end to last season.
Putting in man-of-the-match showings in both England’s semi-final win over Israel and final victory over Spain, the 22-year-
old even scored the winner in the latter, not that he knew much about it, as his performances saw him named in the team of
the tournament.
With the Young Lions predominantly lining up in a 4-4-2 formation, Jones was selected in a deeper midfield role alongside
Angel Gomes, with the pair both fielded as number sixes in a double-pivot engine-room.
Such a role was in contrast to how the midfielder had been used by Jurgen Klopp during Liverpool’s unbeaten 11-game run
at the back-end of last season. With the Reds’ switching to a 3-2-2-3 formation, unleashing Trent Alexander-Arnold as an
inverted right-back, Jones was ever-present throughout as he returned three goals and an assist from the advanced left-
sided position.
Klopp would be impressed by Jones’ performances for his country as England were crowned European champions.
However, speaking last month, the German suggested, despite the summer signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik
Szoboszlai as part of a midfield revamp, he would be persisting with Jones in a more advanced role back at Anfield.
“Curtis played pretty much each minute of the tournament, one game maybe he didn’t play, but he played a really good
tournament in a different role,” Klopp said. “Looked from time to time (like) an adult with kids around him on the other
side, he looked really in charge of the things.
“He will play probably a different position (for Liverpool) and be more offensive orientated and all these kind of things, but a
great achievement, a fantastic achievement.”
Yet, little over a fortnight later and Jones found himself starting as a number six in Liverpool’s pre-season clash with
Leicester City.
“Curtis on six (position) today in first half. It’s interesting,” Klopp told LFC TV ahead of kick-off in what was somewhat of a
change of tune. “From a football point of view, it would make massive sense but obviously we have to see how compact we
can be.
“It’s always the same, whoever you have as the six. If you are not compact, the six is lost. If you are compact, it’s not as
difficult to do. I’m really curious about that as well, how that looks.”
Admittedly, Klopp’s hand had been forced. When Jones was helping England win the European Under-21 Championship,
the Liverpool manager would have still been planning for the new season with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho both part of
his midfield contingent.
Instead, interest from Saudi Arabia caught the Reds’ off-guard, as Liverpool’s now former captain completed a controversial
£12m switch to Al-Ettifaq. Meanwhile, the Brazilian is on the verge of completing a £40m move to Al-Ittihad, with the pair
following James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the exit door.
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With Stefan Bajcetic now yet back in team training after having his breakthrough season ended by an adductor injury back
in April, Klopp was left to make-do with what he had at his disposal. Consequently, it was Alexander-Arnold turned to as the
number six for friendlies with Karlsruher and Furth in Germany, with youngster Conor Bradley instead lining up in the
England international’s inverted full-back role.
Considering the Reds are continuing to adapt to their new 3-2-2-3 formation, implemented to get the best out of Alexander-
Arnold centrally as that inverted full-back, such preparations have been far from ideal. And out in Singapore, with the
Northern Ireland international now injured, Klopp has had to spin plates further.
Bradley’s absence has at least seen Alexander-Arnold restored to his traditional role. And it was the knock-on from such a
switch that led to Jones, who only reported back for pre-season on July 20 after his international exploits, starting at
number six.
Jones has only once previously lined up for Liverpool in that deeper midfield position, against Norwich City in the League
Cup third round in September 2021. Such an experiment was ended after just 45 minutes, with Klopp admitting post-match
such a role was not Jones’ ‘natural position’ and didn’t particularly work against the Canaries despite the Reds running out
3-0 winners.
Two years on and Jones is back in that deeper role again. And while Klopp praised the midfielder’s performance in the 4-0
victory over Leicester his comments ultimately suggested that he is not his desired solution to fill the void.
“Yeah, yeah, absolutely (encouraging). Curtis is a smart player, especially when he is on the ball anyway,” Klopp told LFC TV
after the final whistle. “With him and Trent, we were a bit too slow in moments.
“A little bit two quarter-backs. It makes not too much sense. We have to get out of that more flexibility. We will get there, I
am 100% sure.
“Curtis is in a very good moment. Defensively, the problems we had were nothing to do with him. They just played the ball
over our heads and we had to run.
“If we have a high line, we need to put pressure on the guy on the ball. That’s what we didn’t do in these moments and that’s
why it was a bit tricky. But he did well.”
Evidently, it’s clear Liverpool are in need of and will pursue a more natural replacement for the departing Fabinho.
Meanwhile, it is also obvious that Klopp would much rather be playing Alexander-Arnold as an inverted full-back and Jones
in an advanced midfield role.
But, having had a bid worth up to £38m already rejected for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, such a fact is no secret.
“That would be not a bad idea,” Klopp told reporters on Saturday when asked how important it would be to further
strengthen his midfield department. “We know that we have to do something there, it is absolutely clear. We are obviously
working on solutions.”
Lavia is that obvious solution, with an improved bid for the Belgian expected. Ultimately, the Reds now have two weeks to
sign the 19-year-old and get him integrated into their first-team squad if they wish to have him available before their
Premier League opener away at Chelsea.
Klopp has ultimately had to find creative solutions to compensate for his lack of a natural holding midfielder so far this
summer. And while he can find positives in the performances of Alexander-Arnold and Jones this summer, with the pair at
least showcasing their credentials as emergency deputies when required, it’s clear neither will be Liverpool’s long term
answer as they look to sign a replacement for Fabinho.
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