Trey Nyoni Has Liverpool Opportunity as Iraola Searches for Midfield Solution

Liverpool’s midfield problems against Fulham have created an obvious question for Andoni Iraola. How long before Trey Nyoni gets a meaningful opportunity?

The 19-year-old was a major talking point as David Lynch joined Dave Davis on Anfield Index’s Media Matters podcast following Liverpool’s 0-0 draw at Anfield.

Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai struggled badly against Fulham, with Liverpool lacking aggression in their duels and progression with the ball. For Lynch, that creates an opportunity for Nyoni to force his way into Iraola’s thinking.

“I think this week is very, very interesting for him,” Lynch said. “There just seems like an opportunity there for me.”

That opportunity could arrive quickly, with Liverpool facing Tottenham in the Carabao Cup.

Liverpool Midfield Opens Door for Trey Nyoni

The case for Nyoni comes from what Iraola appears to demand from his central midfielders.

“The manager wants to win games. He wants to win battles in midfield. He wants his passes to be vertical in there,” Lynch explained.

Those were precisely the areas in which Liverpool struggled against Fulham.

Gravenberch endured a particularly difficult afternoon, while Lynch highlighted that Szoboszlai won only one of his 10 duels.

That leaves Nyoni with something tangible to attack.

“Is Trey ready?” Lynch asked. “Can he make that statement that he is and that he should be playing ahead of the other guys?”

Liverpool’s midfield hierarchy is certainly far from settled. Alexis Mac Allister has looked the most comfortable option in Iraola’s system, while the performances of Gravenberch and Szoboszlai have left room for another midfielder to make his case.

Nyoni Can Force Iraola Into Decision

Davis suggested Nyoni could potentially push himself into third place in Liverpool’s midfield pecking order, particularly if he can offer the progressive passing Liverpool lacked against Fulham.

Lynch went even further.

“You look at the ground duels won by Szoboszlai at the weekend and why can’t you jump ahead of him as well?”

That does not amount to a declaration that Nyoni should automatically start. Lynch was careful to acknowledge that Iraola sees considerably more of these players than supporters or journalists.

“It’s very easy for us on the sidelines to say Trey should be starting,” he said. “But in training, if Gravenberch and Szoboszlai are all over him and they are playing better, then you can’t throw him in.”

The opportunity, therefore, has to be earned.

Tottenham Could Provide Nyoni’s Audition

Liverpool’s Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham provides Nyoni with the platform to do precisely that.

“If he comes in in the game against Spurs and he does really well, and better than the others and looks like he’s more capable of understanding what’s being asked of him, looks like he can fire those passes through the line, looks like he can win his duels, then the manager’s going to have a decision to make,” Lynch said.

“That is Trey Nyoni’s job this week, is to give the manager a decision to make going into the weekend.”

There is also a wider significance to the opportunity.

Liverpool’s immediate answer to their midfield problems cannot necessarily come from another transfer. Lynch argued during the podcast that the focus now needs to be on coaching and extracting more from the options already available.

Nyoni represents exactly that kind of internal solution.

Iraola’s Meritocracy Gives Nyoni Hope

Perhaps the most encouraging element for Nyoni is Iraola’s willingness to make decisions based on performance.

Gravenberch has already been taken out of the side. Milos Kerkez has faced competition from Kostas Tsimikas, while Ronald Araújo has been used ahead of Jeremie Frimpong at right-back.

“I don’t think Iraola’s bothered about reputations or who’s earning what,” Lynch said. “I think he wants to win football matches. He needs to win football matches.”

That principle could work strongly in Nyoni’s favour.

“I think Iraola’s running it like a meritocracy,” Lynch added. “If you do the job for me, you can keep the shirt.”

Nobody on the podcast was claiming Nyoni had already proven himself as Liverpool’s midfield solution. The argument was about opportunity.

Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Fulham showed that the midfield remains unsettled. Gravenberch and Szoboszlai have yet to make the double pivot their own, while Mac Allister currently appears the strongest fit.

Nyoni now has the chance to alter that picture.

“It’d be nice for the solution to come from somewhere internally,” Lynch concluded.

For a 19-year-old midfielder trying to establish himself at Liverpool, the door rarely opens much wider than this.