Liverpool welcomed 16-year-old Trey Nyoni to training on Thursday in a nod to his exceptional start to life at the club, but he cannot be considered for the visit of Toulouse.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side put the finishing touches on their preparations for the Europa League clash, with a 27-man squad in attendance at the AXA Training Centre.
And while Cody Gakpo was firmly back in the fold, it was a 16-year-old who attracted plenty of interest after being called up to train with the senior side.
It is a significant vote of confidence for Nyoni, who joined the club from Leicester over the summer and has since scored four goals and notched three assists in five academy games.
The youngster was “tracked by every top club” and it was Liverpool who signed the talented midfielder.
The club will be eager to temper expectations over the 16-year-old, but Nyoni earned his chance to rub shoulders with Liverpool’s first team during Thursday’s pre-Toulouse training session.
While the club are allowed a List B in the Europa League, reserved for young players, Nyoni cannot be included due to UEFA rules, which state:
“Players aged 16 may be registered on List B if they have been registered with the participating club for the previous two years without interruption.”
As Nyoni only joined in the summer, he cannot be registered. However, the experience will have been invaluable and gives him another boost in confidence having been noticed by Klopp and Co.
With the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister involved in training, Nyoni is in the perfect environment to continue his development and will no doubt be eager to rub shoulders with them more often.
Left-back Calum Scanlon was also involved in training on Thursday, as too Luke Chambers as the pair look to maximise on the window of opportunity on the left side of defence.
