In the wake of Sunday’s bitter 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield, the dust hasn't even settled before Andoni Iraola finds himself staring directly down the barrel of a midfield selection crisis.
With eight games jammed into 26 days, the Basque manager desperately needed a clean bill of health. Instead, he’s left picking up the pieces.
Ryan Gravenberch’s second-half dismissal, following two bookable offences, has triggered an immediate one-match domestic ban.
That rules him out of Saturday’s Premier League trip to face an unbeaten Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
To compound matters, there is also still no clear recovery timeline for Dominik Szoboszlai after the Hungarian returned from international duty with a tight hamstring, which kept him out of the Man City defeat entirely.
With senior options stretched thin, all eyes inside the AXA Training Centre are turning toward one man: 19-year-old Trey Nyoni.
Why Nyoni has to start
Saturday’s journey to West London is precisely the sort of Premier League fixture Iraola would want experienced, battle-hardened central midfielders. However, with Gravenberch officially suspended domestically and Szoboszlai’s availability up in the air indefinitely, Iraola doesn't have that luxury.
Nyoni seemingly has to start against Brentford.
Having stepped into the squad void vacated by Curtis Jones this season, the 19-year-old has already demonstrated incredible technical authority, press resistance, and physical profile whenever called upon.
With Alexis Mac Allister needing protection to avoid complete burnout, Nyoni represents the only dynamic option capable of providing control alongside the Argentine at Brentford.
Mac Allister now simply needs to stay fit to cover for Gravenberch’s suspension and Szoboszlai’s injury. Nyoni has been impressive in his limited game time so far this season, and the time is now coming to show that he can do that
An opportunity to impress before West London
Seeing a 19-year-old step into Liverpool's midfield for a big Premier League game usually brings a few extra nerves for supporters. However, history shows that some of Liverpool’s finest midfield careers started out of plain necessity.
Think back to a young Steven Gerrard breaking through during a heavy injury spell in late 1999, or Trent Alexander-Arnold coming straight into a huge Champions League night against Manchester City when the squad was stretched to the limit.
More recently, former midfielder Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott took their chances when senior options picked up injuries.
This is where Trey Nyoni comes in. So far this season, the 19-year-old has built up 124 total minutes across five appearances:
- 62 minutes starting in a 3-1 EFL Cup win over Tottenham.
- 14 minutes off the bench against Nottingham Forest.
- 20 minutes away at Bournemouth.
- 3 minutes late on against Ipswich.
- 25 minutes on Sunday, after Gravenberch was sent off against Manchester City, where he stayed calm under pressure, hit 100% of his passes (4/4), won a tackle, and made a clearance.
Since Gravenberch can still play against LASK in the Champions League, Wednesday night in Austria gives Iraola the perfect chance to build up Nyoni's rhythm and confidence. If he shows what he can do in Linz, Iraola can trust him from the start Brentford with full belief.
For Nyoni, a tough moment for the squad could be the exact break he needs to show he belongs on the biggest stage.
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