Report: Rhys Williams set for a permanent departure in the summer

He's massively off the level required to play with us. His loans haven't worked out. So time for him to get on with his career and try to find a level for himself in the game. 

5 hours ago, TLW said:

Rhys Williams is set to depart Liverpool on a permanent departure in the summer according to a new report.

 

The central defender became a very important figure in the 2020/1 season when Liverpool were severely down on numbers due to season ending injuries to Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

 

It meant that Williams and Nat Phillips had to develop a partnership with the team chasing what seemed to be a unlikely top four berth.

 

The unheralded duo that had been on loan at Kidderminster Harriers and Stuttgart the season before, exceeded all expectations starting the last five games together and maximum points were claimed in those fixtures clinching Champions League football in the process.

 

 

It seemed for all intents and purposes that the academy graduate was on a upward trajectory but it is fair to say he has not come close to reaching those heights since.

 

With the senior contingent fit again, Williams was sent on loan to Swansea for the 2021/2 season, however he found first team opportunities hard to come by only making seven appearances (five starts) and returned to the Reds in January of last year.

 

The 22 year-old was sent to Blackpool at the start of this campaign but after a promising start, fell out of favour and was recalled to his parent club to add defensive cover when Van Dijk went down with a hamstring injury.

 

 

Since his return, Williams has been playing for the U/21s in Premier League 2.

 

But moving ahead, it seems that Williams who is under contract until June 2026 will at a new club next season with Football Insider reporting that he is not in Jurgen Klopp’s first team plans in this present moment or seen as someone who can regularly press for selection in the future.

 

The report also stated that there are a few Championship clubs who are interested in the defender who was capped by England at U/18, U/19 and U/21 level.

 

At this point of time, Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the preferred starters in central defence while Matip and Gomez are more than adequate cover.

 

That is unlikely to change heading into next season but with Phillips also been linked to a departure, the fifth spot is there for the taking.

 

That may be a graduate from the academy, or indeed the returning Sepp van den Berg who has endured a nightmare campaign on loan with Schalke having been on the sidelines for five months with a ankle ligament injury, and then twisting his ankle again after his comeback in a reserve game a few weeks ago. 

 

It remains to be seen if the young Dutchman is sent out for more experience again, or if he does enough to impress the coaches in the pre-season to stick around.

 

 

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Sepp Van Der Berg just gets us.

On 26/03/2023 at 16:23, TLW said:

Rhys Williams is set to depart Liverpool on a permanent departure in the summer according to a new report.

 

The central defender became a very important figure in the 2020/1 season when Liverpool were severely down on numbers due to season ending injuries to Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

 

It meant that Williams and Nat Phillips had to develop a partnership with the team chasing what seemed to be a unlikely top four berth.

 

The unheralded duo that had been on loan at Kidderminster Harriers and Stuttgart the season before, exceeded all expectations starting the last five games together and maximum points were claimed in those fixtures clinching Champions League football in the process.

 

 

It seemed for all intents and purposes that the academy graduate was on a upward trajectory but it is fair to say he has not come close to reaching those heights since.

 

With the senior contingent fit again, Williams was sent on loan to Swansea for the 2021/2 season, however he found first team opportunities hard to come by only making seven appearances (five starts) and returned to the Reds in January of last year.

 

The 22 year-old was sent to Blackpool at the start of this campaign but after a promising start, fell out of favour and was recalled to his parent club to add defensive cover when Van Dijk went down with a hamstring injury.

 

 

Since his return, Williams has been playing for the U/21s in Premier League 2.

 

But moving ahead, it seems that Williams who is under contract until June 2026 will at a new club next season with Football Insider reporting that he is not in Jurgen Klopp’s first team plans in this present moment or seen as someone who can regularly press for selection in the future.

 

The report also stated that there are a few Championship clubs who are interested in the defender who was capped by England at U/18, U/19 and U/21 level.

 

At this point of time, Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the preferred starters in central defence while Matip and Gomez are more than adequate cover.

 

That is unlikely to change heading into next season but with Phillips also been linked to a departure, the fifth spot is there for the taking.

 

That may be a graduate from the academy, or indeed the returning Sepp van den Berg who has endured a nightmare campaign on loan with Schalke having been on the sidelines for five months with a ankle ligament injury, and then twisting his ankle again after his comeback in a reserve game a few weeks ago. 

 

It remains to be seen if the young Dutchman is sent out for more experience again, or if he does enough to impress the coaches in the pre-season to stick around.

 

 

View full article

 

Scored the 2nd goal in the U21’s win against Abu Dhabi jnrs. Had abtough season so hope he gets better luck going fwd. 

Our lads were denied 2 stonewall pens due to awful refereeing. 

How the fuck did we end up giving him a contract until 2026?

Good kid - already done more in the game than most ever will.

Best of luck to him.

I had no idea he was still at the club. Best of luck to him but it was pretty obvious he was way out of his depth in the first team. I'm sure he'll do ok further down the food chain though.

12 hours ago, The wanderer said:

Scored the 2nd goal in the U21’s win against Abu Dhabi jnrs. Had abtough season so hope he gets better luck going fwd. 

Our lads were denied 2 stonewall pens due to awful refereeing. 

And what happened in the U21 game?

Rhys' biggest issue is a lack of pace. He needs to go to a team that defend in a low block and doesn't need defenders to have a good range of passing. Similar to Nat, although Nat has the ability to absolutely dominate in the air that I didn't think Rhys quite had. The pair of them helped us out hugely in Spring 2021 but were never suited long-term to what we need from our players for our approach to be effective. I expect Nat will move on in the summer too. Best of luck to the both of them.

Absolute hero for what he and Big Nat did for us. As already mentioned, doesn't have the pace to make it here but he stepped up and performed above and beyond what we could have expected from him and he can hold his head up high when he leaves.

58 minutes ago, dave u said:

Absolute hero for what he and Big Nat did for us. As already mentioned, doesn't have the pace to make it here but he stepped up and performed above and beyond what we could have expected from him and he can hold his head up high when he leaves.

Agree 100% . What actually stood out for me in the U21’s game was the entitled behaviour of the City U21 players 3 or 4 surrounding the ref when he booked one of their players and late on when the same player was given a 2 nd yellow.