The Monday Briefing
Koumas LFC return, Sheehan on Semenyo and who is Jayden Lienou
A busy weekend on Cymru duty, and some really interesting lines ahead of the friendly with World Cup bound Ghana.
The Monday Briefing will be something that will be coming your way on a regular basis when the new season kicks off in August. So, if you subscribe now you’ll be ahead of the game. And can chant “where were you when Welsh Football Fans was shi …”
Anyway, let’s get into it and first up it’s Louis Koumas. The Liverpool youngster on loan at Hull in the second half of last season survived “Spygate” and helped the Tigers to promotion to the Premier League.
With a new manager on the way at Anfield Koumas told us that he feels he’s impressed on his two seasons on loan. Developed as a player and “scored some goals, so we’ll just have to see when I get back there”.
Koumas was on the bench for Liverpool in the League Cup final in 2024 as they beat Chelsea 1-0. Then burst on to the scene properly by scoring on his debut against Southampton.
But, that’s his only first team action there so far.
“I sort of spent two years in and around the first team in Liverpool under Klopp. Then I remember coming in pre-season. Just literally turned up in the morning, signed a new contract and got told I was going to Stoke on loan. So yeah it was a bit scary to be honest. I didn’t know what to expect and then I went there and ended up playing 49 games, I think it was, that year so that’s pretty crazy to be fair”.
The season just gone Koumas spent time at Birmingham and Hull City.
Koumas says he sees himself as a number 9 and is hopeful that he’s done enough to persuade Craig Bellamy to give him another run in that role in these next two games.
Also speaking over the weekend was Josh Sheehan, who is celebrating reaching the Championship with Bolton through the Play-Offs.
What an incredible journey he’s been on. Leaving Swansea after making just one first team appearance, joining Newport, having two serious knee injuries and now a regular in the Wales squad and playing in the same division as his boyhood club next season.
While at Newport in 2018 Sheehan got an early glimpse of Antoine Semenyo, who he’s likely to face on Tuesday. Then, a teenage Semenyo arrived at Newport on loan from Bristol City.
“He was a quiet boy but when he stepped on a pitch straight away he was so strong, so fast, so direct. You knew, probably from that minute he's going to kick on and have a good career.”
Semenyo played full 90s against Leicester and Middlesbrough in Newport’s incredible FA Cup run that season. Sheehan felt that even then, observing him in training and in matches, that he’d go on to much bigger things.
And finally, on Sunday, there came the news of Leeds United youngster Jayden Lienou being called up to the senior squad.
So, who is Jayden?
Well, he is an U19s international who joined Leeds from Man City’s academy July 2025.
The Wigan-born teenager is a left back or left wing back. He won the U18 Premier League North with City and has also represented Wales at every youth level from U15s-U19s. Lienou started out at Everton’s academy.
Technically talented for his age and he has pace to burn, but is also strong defensively at youth level.
Last season he has made 19 appearances for Leeds’ U21s, recording 1 assist.
So, along with Cam Congreve and Ollie Bostock there could be a debut or two in the next week.
Certainly seems that Bellamy is very impressed with the U19s squad and this should be useful in terms of U19s Euros that take place at the end of June in Wrexham and across North Wales.