Liverpool moved to make sure they tied down a key component of their long-term future earlier on Monday when they officially signed wunderkind Trey Nyoni to fresh terms to stay at Anfield.
While the move was expected, it's good to see the club, and the player, waste little time upon him turning 18 to finalize such a deal to keep growing together.
With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to really see where he stands in the club hierarchy and if this new deal means more now or in 3 years. The answer is probably going to be somewhere in the middle.
Nyoni pens new Liverpool deal
Following two highly successful years with the Reds after arriving with much expectation from Leicester City, Nyoni is now one of the most integral players within the Liverpool academy setup.
He's already featured for U21s, U19s and U18s and the senior team in his short tenure at the club and the sky really does appear to be the limit for him.
Now freshly 18, Nyoni joins the likes of Conor Bradley, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to pen fresh contracts as Richard Hughes and Arne slot are aiming to lockdown as many key assets as they can while shifting into this new and exciting era of Reds football.
Following his signing of this new contract, Nyoni was ready to get to work when speaking with the official team channels.
"It's a great feeling but now I have to go out and show why I’ve earned this contract."Trey Nyoni
It's a good bit of business for the club that sees his bright future as a key piece to their own down the line.
A Nyoni breakthrough to follow?
While it makes total sense to secure his future right now before his value gets any higher, this should not mean you need to expect to see Nyoni play 30+ times next season for the first team.
He's a supremely gifted player, especially on the ball, and he is mature beyond his years which helps him a lot as well, but he is coming off a campaign that saw him appear 6 times for Slot.
However, even with some tempered expectations, one can safely assume he will hit the double digit mark this coming season. Liverpool will be competing on four fronts and a dynamic talent like Nyoni can and will help alleviate some of that strain.
His creative flair and underrated vision allows him to change the game with one scintillating pass or dribble. That is a weapon you'd want to have available at most times during the season.
I see him following a similar path to what we saw from Conor Bradley during his breakthrough season. He'll have moments to shine and if an injury hits, he could and should be ready to take any chance that comes is way.
He needs to get a little stronger but that will come with time and as he grows into his frame, he can be trusted to play deeper in the midfield as needed to use his shiftiness on the ball to spring counters.
A new deal is great news for both Trey Nyoni and Liverpool but it could just be the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership if it all goes well in the end.