Trey Nyoni could be in line to make his full Liverpool debut this evening as his rise through the ranks continues.

Arne Slot has suggested he will be making a raft of changes as the Reds meet Southampton in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup tonight. The Liverpool boss has also confirmed some of the club's youngsters will be given an opportunity at St Mary's, and - as per The Times - Nyoni could be at the front of the queue to make his first senior start, given the impression he's already made on the Liverpool boss.

The England youth international has experienced a whirlwind rise through the ranks on Merseyside after signing from Leicester City back in 2023. The youngster, who was handed his senior debut by Jurgen Klopp against Southampton in the FA Cup last year, has penned an agreement with the club until 2027.

READ MORE: Alan Shearer makes 'amazing' Liverpool claim after Marco Silva's Fulham admission

READ MORE: Mohamed Salah fumed with two Liverpool teammates in injury time vs Fulham

• I heard what Arne Slot said in his press conference and Liverpool needs to take transfer action

• Liverpool transfer news as Jeremie Frimpong decision made amid $114m battle with Arsenal

Having impressed in the U18s set-up, he successfully made the step up to U21s, while starring with Arne Slot's first team during pre-season. The 17-year-old prodigy particularly caught the eye during a friendly versus Sevilla, netting the team's fourth goal in the victory over the Spanish side.

Although temporary departures of academy graduates such as Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak were eventually sanctioned in the summer, Nyoni stayed put. Speaking about the reasoning behind this decision, Slot appeared to be eager to keep the starlet in and around the first team squad at Kirkby.

After a bright pre-season, he said of the youngster: "I think still this team, with what we have, has a lot of homegrown players. One of them, Trey Nyoni, is also training with us on a daily basis at only 17. So this club will always bring good youngsters."

Following on from these comments, the Dutchman offered up another update on the prospect's progress as he prepared to potentially blood him in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. He said: "He’s a young player, a young, young player. He only just became 17, but with a lot of talent and he had an impact in pre-season.

"So he’s a talent, but being a talent is not enough, not enough to play on a regular basis in the first team," he continued, as he gave a realistic assessment. "So we need to keep developing him, he needs playing time to develop. That’s why sometimes as a manager, you feel we might meet him with the first team, but it’s so, so important for him to keep playing his games.

Although an appearance against the Hammers did not eventually materialize, he has made the bench in the Champions League squad this season. In addition, Nyoni was given the honor of captaining Liverpool's U19s team in their UEFA Youth League clash against AC Milan this term.

Speaking about the teenager's development further, Slot said: "That’s why he played in Milan also with the Under-19s because for him to develop, he needs to train with us and he needs to keep having his playing time at the highest-possible level.

"But I think training with the likes of all the players we have, helps him to develop, so we’re taking good care of him and we’re aware he’s only 17. That’s probably the reason why people see him as such a talent because he’s already showed some interesting things."

An original version of this article was first published on October 15, 2024.