Liverpool kick off their defence of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday when West Ham United visit Anfield. The third round tie poses an opportunity for new head coach Arne Slot to rotate his squad - and one player who could feature is Trey Nyoni.
The Reds' youngsters suffered penalty shootout disappointment away at Harrogate Town in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy on Tuesday but among the notable absentees was Nyoni and Tyler Morton. Many suggested that the omission from Barry Lewtas' side could see either one or both of the under-21s making the move up to the first-team.
The 17-year-old has enjoyed a rise to prominence in the Liverpool academy set-up after arriving from Leicester City last season. He has already made his Liverpool competitive bow, featuring in the 3-0 win over Southampton in the FA Cup at the tender age of 16, before featuring prominent during the pre-season tour of America.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info
"The way I look at it now, it would be a fair chance for him to be in our squad instead of being with the U21s, but it also depends on how fit all the other players are."
The England youth international has already captured praise from his Liverpool teammates, including Harvey Elliott. During the American stretch of pre-season, Slot was keen not to overwork the youngster with Nyoni sitting out some of the sessions, due to their intensity.
Elliott was among the established and senior Liverpool players to offer advice during the gruelling preparations for the Premier League campaign. He said: "Trey has got everything in him.
"He showed it the other night and he is fearless for such a young age, that goes without saying. He just needs to keep going and trust the process.
"We have gone around to him and spoken to him and, you know, the seniors as well who have been around it a lot longer than I have, they have spoken to him as well. He has got everything and he just needs to keep going in the right way, keep trusting the process and I am sure his time will come."
Nyoni was among the youngsters included during Liverpool's success in the same tournament that kicks off with the visit of Julen Lopetegui's side on Wednesday. Although he never mustered a competitive minute, he did pick up a winner's medal after featuring on the bench in the two-legged semi-final as well as the dramatic extra-time win over Chelsea at Wembley.
It marked an astronomical couple of months for the former Foxes youngster, who'd only signed at the beginning of the season - six months earlier. He left the Midlands club and joined Liverpool as part of a double-swoop for the Reds academy with Amara Nallo arriving from West Ham United, in another example of the Kirkby academy staff utilising the stringent Brexit rules to lure top talents in the country to Merseyside.
Guy Branston, former loan manager and academy coach at Leicester, noted in an interview earlier this year that you could see his talent from an early age. He said: "You’re watching him train at the training ground and you’re getting wind that he’s a super talent.
"You’re watching him play up and he’s still flagging up. Then since I’ve left, he’s stepped into the U16s and U18s and then watched him around the England set-up as well."
Nyoni captained Liverpool's youth team in their recent draw against AC Milan in the UEFA Youth League and he is already making an impact on the coaches within the academy ranks, featuring heavily in the Reds first-team preparations.
To what degree he will feature for the Reds remains to be seen but there's a quiet optimism bubbling around the 17-year-old - and Liverpool supporters could get a competitive glimpse when the London club visit.
