Virgil Van Dijk Could Not Hide His Joy For Nyoni After The Youngster’s First Goal For Liverpool
Liverpool rising teenage star Trey Nyoni came off the bench to score his first senior goal for the Reds as the team won 4-1 against Spanish side Sevilla on Sunday and captain Virgil Van Dijk could not hide his joy for the youngster he admired from day one.
The 17-year-old was introduced shortly after the hour mark to take up the left-wing position in place of Luis Diaz who scored a brace with the other goal scored by Diego Jota.
Just within four minutes after coming on in the 63rd minutes, Nyoni controlled a wonderful half-volley on the edge of the box into the far corner of the net, to restore Liverpool’s three goal-lead against the Spanish side.
And after scoring his goal, which saw him mobbed by his teammates, skipper Van Dijk made sure the teenager received the praise he deserved from the fans by grabbing the humble youngster and shove him towards the crowd so he could once again be applauded and cheered by the Anfield crowd.
Virgil has been paying close attention to Nyoni’s development ever since his first involvement with the senior set-up during Jurgen Klopp’s time.
It was Nyoni’s fourth appearance in Liverpool’s preseason friendlies ahead of the 2024 season, having featured against Real Betis, Arsenal and Manchester United. The exciting 17-year-old attacking midfielder has been used in different roles in all the matches he played but never looked out of place in anywhere.
During Nyoni’s first training with the senior team in 2023, Liverpool youth coach Jay Spearing revealed that Van Dijk came out to the youngster and congratulated him on training with them. “He said he’s got a lot more to come and he really liked him,” said Spearing.
Van Dijk even followed Nyoni to watch him play for the U18s against Middlesbrough and also in matches with the U21s.
Nyoni has been praised mainly for his understanding of the game which Spearing once described as ‘incredible’ for such a young age.
He knows how the game should be played, he knows when to speed the game up, he knows when to slow the game down, what pockets and positions to pick up to cause the opposition problems. He’s a really talented boy, ” Spearing once said.
It would be interesting to see how Arne Slot is going to manage the breakout youngster in the upcoming season – with some suggesting a loan spell for his next phase of development- while others fancy to see him sticking up around the first team and utilized as the team’s secret weapon.
