Liverpool have wonderkid, 16, 'on standby' as injury crisis hits before final
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could be forced to throw teenage starlet Trey Nyoni in at the deep end against Luton Town on Wednesday after a raft of injuries struck his squad.
Klopp's team secured a comfortable victory at Brentford on Sunday, with Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota combining for the opener. Both men picked up injuries in the win, though, leaving Klopp with a conundrum ahead of a double-header.
After the midweek Luton game comes a trip to Wembley to face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final. Jota is set to miss both games, with a knee injury sidelining him for "months", according to Klopp, but Nunez's return could come sooner.
There are also questions over Mohamed Salah, who returned from the bench against Brentford but may have his minutes managed, while Curtis Jones also picked up an issue in West London which is set to keep him out on Wednesday. That leaves attacking midfielder Nyoni as one of a number of candidates for midweek minutes as Klopp considers shuffling his pack before Sunday's final.
According to The Times, Nyoni is one of a number of teenagers 'on standby' for Klopp's team. The 16-year-old, who joined from Leicester in 2023, was on the bench for the reverse fixture with Brentford in November and for both legs of the Carabao Cup semi against Fulham.
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Other youngsters in the mix for debuts, according to the same report, include forwards Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns. Both are sons of ex-footballers - Koumas' dad Jason played for Cardiff and Wales, while Danns' father Neil is an ex-Guyana international who played Premier League football for Blackburn.
Neither youngster has featured for the first-team this term, though Koumas was on the bench for the recent Premier League victory against Burnley. Danns has caught the eye for the Reds' under-18s, scoring nine in nine in the league and five in three FA Youth Cup outings including a double in the 7-1 victory over Arsenal.
Should Jurgen Klopp give Liverpool's wonderkids a run-out against Luton? Have your say in the comments section
Lewis Koumas is among the youngsters to train with Liverpool's senior stars (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)"We are where we are because of them," Klopp told reporters when asked about giving youth a chance. "That's how it is because the boys really delivered.
"We will see how many of them we have to use and [we] will give [them] the opportunity because obviously in a good moment they all can be in. That's how it is.
"We have some options there, definitely – players who showed already what they can do like James [McConnell] or Bobby [Clark] and others even who didn't feature yet who are in and around that. [Lewis] Koumas, [Jayden] Danns; massive talents. Trey [Nyoni], they are all massive talents. So, we will see what we will do, but [for] now we are just planning for tomorrow and from there we go."
As for Nunez and Salah, Klopp insisted Liverpool were going "day by day". "It’s a similar area where he feels it [fatigue] a little bit," he said of Salah. "We have to see how it develops. It’s nothing crazy, but we have to see.”
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