EXCLUSIVE: Former Liverpool star Jason McAteer on the emergence of Trey Nyoni and where the teenager and Dominik Szoboszlai fit into Andoni Iraola's midfield plans
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.(Image: Steve Bardens - AMA/Getty Images)
As Virgil van Dijk and others have repeatedly said so far this season, Liverpool remains a work in progress under Andoni Iraola. Nowhere has there been more changes, though, than in midfield.
Ryan Gravenberch was in the starting XI at Newcastle on the opening weekend of the new campaign, while Dominik Szoboszlai has been in and out due to injury. Alexis Mac Allister's stock has risen again, and Trey Nyoni has emerged as an option with vast potential belying his 19 years.
"Finding the balance in midfield has also been a big talking point, especially with the emergence of Nyoni," the former Reds man Jason McAteer tells Liverpool.com.
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"Five into three don't go, and we've got to find the balance. At the minute, for me, Trey's put in three Man of the Match performances against very good opposition: Chelsea, Fenerbahce and Arsenal. He was rested against Palace, but came on and changed the game. They looked more solid.
"So the manager has a big dilemma about who he feels are his strongest three in that midfield, and who are his most productive players."
Nyoni will be carefully managed across the course of the campaign because of his youth, but the teenager has been a revelation in recent matches. Many would have had him in the side over Szoboszlai at Selhurst Park.
"I don't see Szoboszlai as an eight; I see him as either a 10 or a six," McAteer says.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister celebrates scoring his side's third goal with team-mate Trey Nyoni during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Liverpool FC and Villarreal CF at Anfield on October 20, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Alexis Mac Allister and Trey Nyoni increasingly look to be Liverpool's best midfield partnership (Image: Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images)
"Obviously, Liverpool played with two sixes and then predominantly a 10 with Wirtz. The quality is there, and he was obviously the player of the season last season. But different tactics, different systems, different managers and different teammates. Maybe it suits them a little bit more.
"In this midfield, the balance during that run when we went five or six games unbeaten has been Nyoni and Mac Allister, with Wirtz up ahead. Nyoni and Wirtz have really developed a good relationship.
"Nyoni doesn't want the ball for five or six or seven seconds. He wants it for two or three seconds, and he knows where his passes are. He gets it and gives it, and he plays through the lines really quickly.
"What Wirtz wants is to get the ball in those little pockets as early as he can. He doesn't want a center-half pushing up on him. He doesn't want midfielders dropping on him. He wants it in that pocket of space where he's got time and space, where he can open up and start playing.
Wirtz has yet to fulfil his potential
Wirtz has yet to fulfil his potential(Image: Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
"We've seen the best of Wirtz over the last month, and I would say that's down to Trey. He's still young and still learning the game. The physicality of the Premier League will catch up with him at some point, but at the minute he's reading the game really well. He sees danger, he senses danger, and when he gets the ball, it's in and out. He doesn't want to linger on it.
"His pass completion and his numbers are fantastic. He had a 96 percent pass completion against Arsenal. The possession stats dropped by about 8 percent when he went off. So he's making a real impact from that six role."
Has Nyoni forced Szoboszlai out of contention, then? Far from it. While he has formed a strong relationship with Mac Allister and Wirtz, there will be plenty of minutes to go around.
"I'm kind of sitting on the fence because I do see a place for Szoboszlai," McAteer, speaking on behalf of Casino Kings, continues. "He is a leader in the team, and this leadership quality is a big talking point in football.
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"Certainly, over the last three or four years, the game has changed. Gone are the days of throwing hairdryers, singling players out in dressing rooms and grabbing them by the throat. Those days are gone for managers. It is down to players to do that.
"We've had it in the past with Jordan Henderson and James Milner. They set the culture and the standards. Szoboszlai is kind of in that build, maybe not as aggressive as Henderson and Milner, but on the pitch he is a leader.
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"There is a place for him, although I don't know exactly where. I think you're going to see a lot of rotation in that midfield to accommodate games, but also egos.
"It's very difficult for the manager to say, 'Listen, I'm going to throw in a 19-year-old who's impressed, and I'm going to take out last year's star player, who's a big hit and has a big ego in that dressing room'. I think we saw that on Sunday. To be honest, I think it was a little bit of a balancing act."