Rhys Williams is already back in Liverpool first-team training after his return to Liverpool earlier this week. The 21-year-old appears set for a first-team role.
Liverpool decided to cut Rhys Williams‘ loan spell short this week. He’s been with Blackpool since the summer but the Reds feel they need him back.
Part of that will be because of Mick McCarthy taking over the reins there. Liverpool may feel the veteran manager won’t use Williams in the way they’d agreed back at the start of the season.
But per the Liverpool Echo, the main reason is that the squad needs him. Nat Phillips – essentially the fifth-choice centre-back – is expected to depart before the transfer window closes.
Thus Williams will step into that role as his replacement. It’s a role that may see playing time over the next little while as Virgil van Dijk remains out.
Rhys Williams in Liverpool training
The Echo’s claims certainly appear accurate after Williams was pictured in first-team training on Wednesday. The Reds have wasted no time at all in getting the 21-year-old reintegrated.
The photo shows Williams chasing down Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – another player linked with a potential exit this week. Though, his involvement on Wednesday suggests the midfielder isn’t exactly close to going anywhere.
Williams will certainly hope to make a quick impression and force his way into the first-team squad before long. He would be eligible to play on Sunday in the FA Cup, too, as he didn’t feature in the competition for Blackpool.
As Jurgen Klopp balances his squad around the injured Van Dijk, he may well fancy using the player he once called ‘incredible’. Even if just from the bench, as he did with Phillips against Wolves in the previous round.
We’ll have to wait and see on that one, then, but Williams is certainly back in contention already.
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