Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will surely be left impressed by footage that has emerged of loanee Neco Williams that has emerged over the weekend.
The 20-year-old Welshman has struggled to make his way into the Liverpool side in recent seasons, with the vast majority of his 33 appearances for the club coming in various cup competitions. Although, given that he has to compete with Trent Alexander-Arnold for his spot at right-back, it’s hardly surprising that he hasn’t been able to make that breakthrough.
In a bid to aid his development, he was sent on loan to Championship side Fulham during the January transfer window, where he’s been able to become a regular for Marco Silva’s side, starting all seven games since making the move, grabbing two assists in the process.
He continued his impressive form this past weekend in their victory over Blackburn Rovers, a result which helped Fulham increase their lead at the top of the table to 11 points and to 12 over the play-off places.
Not only did Williams play his part in their opening goal after his shot was fumbled by Rovers ‘keeper Thomas Kaminski, which led to Neeskens Kebano tapping in on the rebound, but he very nearly got on the scoresheet himself with an audacious effort from just inside the opposition half that had Kaminski beaten, though his effort struck the crossbar, as seen here.
TIF Thoughts on footage of Liverpool’s Neco Williams whilst on loan at Fulham…
Can Neco Williams go on to be better than Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Yes
No
Williams has certainly managed to impress during his time at Craven Cottage, as he leads the team in tackles per game, ranks second in dribbles and third in crosses, all in the space of a few weeks (via WhoScored).
The skillset he was able to demonstrate at the weekend, as well as in preceding games, shows that there is a player there for Klopp to use and give him something to think about moving forward, but it’s just a case of finding a place for him in the team.
Right-back seems hard to imagine, and whilst he has played a number of other positions, with his national team bosses utilising him as a left-back, left-winger, right-winger and in centre-midfield, given the world-class talent that Liverpool have in those spots, even his flexibility doesn’t seem to do him much of a favour.
It certainly is a headache for the German, as he may well face a very tough decision over the Welshman’s future when the summer transfer window rolls around.
In other news: Massive blow for Klopp, £27m-rated star gets his chance: Liverpool suffer huge setback – opinion