Nyoni’s new deal is close, but the Mac Allister silence deserves just as much attention
There are contract stories that feel like admin, and there are contract stories that tell you exactly how a club sees its future. The news that Liverpool are edging towards fresh terms for Trey Nyoni belongs firmly in the second category. According to Give Me Sport, discussions with the teenager’s camp are well advanced, and there is a real chance the new deal is signed off before the players return from the international break.
We think that matters more than the headline suggests. Nyoni is 19, his existing contract already runs to 2030, and Liverpool have no obvious reason to rush. The fact they are moving anyway says a great deal about how quickly he has grown in Andoni Iraola’s eyes.
From promising prospect to genuine option
Rewind to the start of the season and Nyoni was a name supporters spoke about with hope rather than certainty. That has changed fast. He was handed his first Premier League start in the narrow 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, then opened his senior account in the 3-2 loss away at Fenerbahce. Neither result was what we wanted, but both were landmark nights for him, and he now has 13 appearances to his name across every competition.
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The club’s actions over the summer tell the same story. When Curtis Jones was sold to Inter Milan in August, plenty of us expected a replacement to follow. None came. Liverpool decided Nyoni was ready to absorb those minutes, and then turned down a £30m bid from Nottingham Forest late in the window to make sure he stayed. You do not reject that kind of money for a teenager unless you are convinced of where he is heading.
Ben Jacobs, whose reporting underpins the piece, indicated that Nyoni’s deal is the one that will be wrapped up first and that it is already at an advanced stage. Talks have apparently been rumbling on for months, so this feels less like a sudden reaction and more like the end of a deliberate process.
Why rewarding him now is the right call
There is a simple logic here. Elite young midfielders attract attention from across Europe, and Nyoni’s profile is rising with every appearance. Improving his terms now does two things at once. It reflects what he has already contributed, and it sends a clear signal to anyone sniffing around that Liverpool see him as part of the long-term core rather than a sellable asset.
It also says something to the rest of the academy. Iraola has been willing to trust young players with proper responsibility, and a new contract for Nyoni reinforces the message that performance is rewarded at this club. That is a powerful thing for every youngster in Kirkby to see.
What we like most is that he has not been wrapped in cotton wool. He has played in big games, made mistakes, learned from them and kept demanding the ball. Composure, technical sharpness and a bit of personality are not a bad combination for someone his age operating in the middle of the park.
The Mac Allister question nobody is answering
If the Nyoni news is a clear positive, the update on Alexis Mac Allister is the opposite, with almost nothing to report. The Argentine is said to want to stay at Anfield, but talks on a new deal have not moved, and Jacobs suggested Liverpool will be in the market for another midfielder either in January or in the summer of 2027.
That makes us a little uneasy. Mac Allister is 27, has 18 months left on his deal, and remains central to how Iraola sets up. He scored in the 3-1 win at Crystal Palace, has started all but two Premier League matches this season, and currently sits alongside Dominik Szoboszlai in the deeper midfield pairing with Florian Wirtz pushed further forward. That is not the profile of a player the club should let drift towards the final year of his contract.
The recruitment context does explain some of the hesitation. Ryan Gravenberch is out injured, Wataru Endo is still around but hardly a long-term answer, and Liverpool are expected to target at least one specialist No.6 in the coming year. Whoever arrives in that role could reshape the pecking order, and it is possible the club want to see how that plays out before committing big money to Mac Allister.
Our take
Our view is that both things can happen at once. Liverpool can sign a holding midfielder and keep Mac Allister. Proven quality in that area of the pitch is hard to find and even harder to replace, and he already knows exactly what Iraola wants. Letting the situation slide would be a self-inflicted wound.
For now, though, the brighter story is Nyoni. Locking him down early is proactive, sensible and the kind of move top clubs make before they are forced to. If it becomes official during the break, it will be one of the more satisfying bits of business Liverpool do all season, even though not a penny is spent on a transfer fee.