Rhys Williams Slides into Fifth-Choice Centre-Back Spot

Nat Phillips has departed to Bournemouth in the January transfer window, but the fifth-choice centre-back position has already been occupied. That’s because Rhys Williams, the other half of last season’s emergency centre-back pairing that secured us Champions League football, is back at Liverpool after an uneventful loan spell at Swansea. Williams was limited to just seven appearances in his spell at the Welsh club, leading him to be recalled back to Liverpool in the second half of January.

With the season ramping up to its finish and four senior and healthy defenders ahead of him, it would seem that this Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Cardiff would be one of the rare opportunities for him to get some playtime... although Klopp may opt to play some of the more experienced heads back into match sharpness after the break. Williams will probably do most of his work for the rest of the season in training and the U-23 matches, where he’ll have the chance to display the improvements he’s made to his game over the past year.