Neco Williams has become something of a regular in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side in the last few matches, following the injury suffered by Trent Alexander-Arnold shortly before the international break.
The Reds will be relieved, therefore, that they kept hold of the Welsh international this summer when he was attracting heavy interest from Wolves.
It was suggested by The Times that the 19-year-old could have been part of the deal which saw Diogo Jota join Liverpool, but the Merseyside outfit were not keen to lose Williams and ended up selling young Ki-Jana Hoever to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side instead.
Following the injury to Alexander-Arnold, suffered against Manchester City, the Welsh defender has now appeared in each of Liverpool’s last three games, although his disappointing average rating of 6.22 in the Premier League may be a cause for concern for Klopp.
The academy graduate may become an even more important member of the Reds’ first-team in the coming weeks, following the injury to makeshift right-back James Milner in the recent 1-1 draw against Brighton.
That leaves Williams as the only fit right-back at the club, so the Reds will be breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn’t let go during the summer transfer window as this period of Christmas fixtures could well be the making of the 19-year-old.
Fans of the Merseyside club will be hoping that the youngster starts to show the sort of performances he enjoys with Wales with the Reds, with Ryan Giggs in particular full of praise for Williams after a recent performance against Bulgaria.
“I thought Neco, his first start, on the other flank Rhys [Norrington-Davies] with his first start, were outstanding. Neco was brilliant, he’s done really well since he’s come into the team.” (per Sky Sports)
Klopp was also complimentary of the young defender when he made his Premier League debut earlier this year, saying:
“I liked [it] a lot, he’s confident.”“The two situations—yellow card, another foul—he can learn that, that’s absolutely no problem. I like how he played a lot.” (per ThisisAnfield)Therefore, the young talent has earned a lot of praise for his performances in his career thus far and he now looks set for an extended run in the Liverpool first-team, so fans will be hoping to see him show his quality.