Liverpool’s midfield is in a crisis, and things are getting worse.
It is almost unanimously agreed that the Reds need another midfielder in the January window.
Andoni Iraola’s young tenure as Liverpool boss has been defined by midfield struggles, mostly a lack of balance and control.
Dominik Szoboszlai leaving the pitch injured during Saturday’s clash against Brentford took the Reds’ midfield issues to a new level, but his replacement offered some hope to supporters.
Trey Nyoni is quickly becoming one of Iraola’s best options in the midfield, and the side as a whole looks much more balanced with the 19-year-old on the pitch.
Trey Nyoni deserves to start for Liverpool
With Szoboszlai out injured, Iraola’s midfield options are even fewer and the Spaniard will have to choose between Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Nyoni when it comes to decided who starts behind Florian Wirtz at Anfield on Tuesday.
The Reds are facing Villarreal and Nyoni, who started his first Champions League match for the club on Wednesday against LASK, deserves to start on Tuesday night.
The Englishman has already played more minutes for Liverpool this campaign than he did the entirety of last season, featuring in all but two competitive matches under Iraola and earning two starts.
Iraola should reward Nyoni’s strong performances and give the youngster his third start of the season on Tuesday.
Liverpool opted not to sign a replacement for Curtis Jones in the summer because they were so impressed with Nyoni’s development and did not want to block his progress, now is the time to place trust in the teenager once again.
Nyoni’s chances of starting are greatly improved by the injury to Szoboszlai, but the truth is the young star deserves to start anyway.
The coaching team in Kirkby have a big decision to make, but they will know exactly what Nyoni can offer the team and will hope he can continue to make such an impact.