Liverpool journalist Paul Machin has made a big claim on Reds full-back Neco Williams.
This comes after Machin recently hosted an episode of The Redmen TV podcast to look back over Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in midweek.
In the episode, the topic of Williams came up and Machin shared his thoughts on the 19-year-old and his future at the Merseyside club.
He said: “We’ve not seen him tested anywhere near enough yet, but he’s a better dribbler, I think, than Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. I think he’s more comfortable actually just having the ball and being pressed. Trent knows his game better, so he doesn’t need to be in those situations, but you don’t see Trent drop the shoulder and go past people. That’s not his game, whereas I’ve seen with Neco Williams, he ‘Cruyffs’ it or he drags it and has the shot.
“He did that in the Arsenal game in the League Cup as well, just dropping the shoulder, making space, getting crosses in. We’ll never know whether he is going to be as good a deliverer of the ball as Trent, but we just don’t know what’s happening right now.
“It’s a perfect-world scenario for Liverpool to have a youth player that looks capable. And that’s all we need him to be at the moment – a capable deputy – because he’s not going to have to play loads of football.
“Neco Williams actually looks like he can do a lot of what Trent is doing. His final ball might not be there, because there’s very few who are quite that good at putting those kind of crosses in, but he’s actually able to contribute in maybe different ways. And you never know, it might give [Jurgen] Klopp an option in years to come.”
Is Neco Williams a suitable backup for Alexander-Arnold?
Yes
No
The teenager made his first Premier League appearance for the Reds against Palace after coming on as a substitute for Trent Alexander-Arnold in the second half.
Williams has also made several appearances for the Reds in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup this season (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts…
It’s great to hear that Machin has this much confidence in Williams’ abilities in a Liverpool shirt.
Considering that Williams replaced Alexander-Arnold during Liverpool’s recent victory, this could be a clue that Klopp sees Williams as suitable backup for Alexander-Arnold for the foreseeable future.