Arne Slot already shares same view as Virgil van Dijk on Liverpool youngster

Arne Slot appears to be on the same page as Virgil van Dijk when it comes to a Liverpool youngster who is now a permanent fixture in first-team training.

The Reds have waved goodbye to seven players either on temporary or permanent deals this summer yet the Dutchman is confident there remains enough talent within the squad to provide Liverpool with the perfect platform this season.

Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg are the most notable departures, with the pair joining Brentford for a combined fee of almost $66million (£50m/€59m) this month alone, while promising midfielder Bobby Clark has also joined Red Bull Salzburg .

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Other permanent departures include Billy Koumetio to Dundee and Harvey Blair to Portsmouth , while Calvin Ramsay and Luke Chambers (both Wigan), Rhys Williams (Morecambe), Lewis Koumas (Stoke City) and Luca Stephenson (Dundee United) have left on loan.

However, a number of academy stars remain and one in particular has caught the eye this summer. 17-year-old Trey Nyoni has just 12 minutes of competitive first-team action under his belt but is already one of the favorites from the academy to make the permanent step-up to Slot's squad.

And it will come as no surprise to club captain Van Dijk, who personally congratulated Nyoni for training with the first-team , and for making the bench against Brentford, in November 2023. In fact, he even came to watch the Under-18s shortly after to see how Nyoni was playing.

Now, Slot has used Nyoni as an example of the incredible talent coming through at Liverpool in response to concerns raised over the recent cull of youngsters, and admits he has become a permanent fixture of first-team training.

“(Selling players like Clark) is always a difficult one, as young players want to play as well. If they want to develop then they have to play. It’s always like this," Slot told the Liverpool ECHO .

“They come through the ranks of the youth Academy, and either you are good enough to play for many minutes or there is too much competition in your position. This team, we still have a lot of homegrown players. And, one of them, (Nyoni) training with us on a daily basis who is only 17.”

Nyoni was afforded the chance to impress during Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States, featuring in all three games and particularly impressing against Real Betis and Manchester United , controlling the tempo of the match and looking to be well beyond his years after coming off the bench.

Following the 1-0 victory over Real Betis, Slot said: "You can see his quality. He needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level but he’s an interesting player."

Less than two months down the line, and Nyoni is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah on a daily basis, something that will surely only continue to benefit his development as he aims to break into the matchday squads on a regular basis.