Andoni Iraola left 'blown away' by Liverpool's top choice to replace Curtis Jones

Having lost Curtis Jones earlier this week, as the Liverpudlian confirmed to be leaving Anfield for Serie A side Inter Milan, Andoni Iraola has already found his candidate to take the reins as the supplementary midfielder.

After arriving from Bournemouth this summer, Iraola is gearing up for his first Premier League outing in the Liverpool dugout with a thinner squad than he would have liked.

The clear-out from previous boss Arne Slot, which saw Luis Diaz, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, and more all leave the squad in the last 12 months, has left the rebuild project in a sticky situation.

Even more departures from Liverpool have seen the squad continue to thin out, only bolstering the front line with summer signing Victor Munoz.

Yet as negotiations for marquee winger Bradley Barcola continue to limp towards a finish line, Iraola has reportedly found his answer to the void in the midfield left by Jones' move - and the new man was right under their nose the whole time.

Liverpool set to snub £70m Wharton and Scott for academy graduate

While Liverpool have been linked with big-money moves for Adam Wharton, among others, the Spanish manager has been left 'blown away' by an academy graduate during pre-season, and is ready to promote from within.

Trey Nyoni has been on the precipice of a breakthrough since he was handed a professional debut as a 16-year-old by Jurgen Klopp, but after being left out of Slot's plans, the youngster is back in Iraola's first-team plans.

According to TEAMtalk Insider Graeme Bailey, Nyoni has reportedly become a better option for Iraola than a £70m fee for Wharton or Alex Scott, and will be a key feature of Liverpool's 2026/27 campaign.

"Before pre-season, I am told that Andoni Iraola, aware of the Curtis Jones situation, was worried about the depth," Bailey said.

"A host of options were assessed – they looked at the Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes situations, but they were not right for them.”

"The likes of Adam Wharton, Alex Scott and Lamine Camara have also been assessed, and they like what they have seen and heard, but we are talking £50, £60 or even more than £70 million in terms of deals.

"Then in comes Nyoni and he has blown Iraola away.

"They firmly believe he is first-team ready and can compete with the likes of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Mac Allister – they really see that as a midfield four and they even have Endo still around.”

With six senior appearances to his name, the 19-year-old deep-lying midfielder has spearheaded Liverpool's pre-season as the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister returned from international duty, and has played his way into the squad.

Nyoni would add to a wealth of youngsters breaking into the Liverpool team this year. After recovering from injuries, the centre-back pairing of Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are set to play big parts this season, while breakout sensation Rio Ngumoha is tipped to be a regular starter on the right wing this year.

With Stefan Bajcetic returning to fitness this summer and new wonderkid Ifeanyi Ndukwe securing a loan move while a work permit is secured by the end of the calendar year, Iraola has deep academy options to help his squad out in the latter half of the season too.