Soccer Football - Champions League - Group B - Liverpool v FC Porto - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 24, 2021 Liverpool's Neco Williams in action Action Images via Reuters/Molly Darlington
Former Premier League striker Noel Whelan has delivered his verdict regarding the future of Neco Williams at Liverpool.
The lowdown: Loan sensation
The 21-year-old spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Fulham and helped the London club earn a promotion to the Premier League.
Having previously acted as an understudy to Trent Alexander-Arnold for the most part, Williams scored twice and provided another two assists in 14 Championship appearances following the January switch.
As a return to the AXA Training Centre beckons in the coming weeks, the Wales international’s future is bound to be in the spotlight during the summer transfer window and a source close to Craven Cottage has already revealed there is interest in a permanent £12million move.
And with the player valued at just £7.2million by Transfermarkt, Julian Ward would be starting his reign as the new Anfield transfer guru with a hefty 40 per cent mark-up.
The latest: ‘Nice little boost’
Speaking to Football Insider, former BBC pundit and now Leeds United employee Whelan has suggested that selling Williams could be the best move for all parties.
The 47-year-old said: “He’s done a fantastic job at Fulham. He was shown a lot of trust by Marco Silva and Jurgen Klopp. He’s repaid it by playing his part in the title win.
“He’s well worthy of that £12million price tag. I think he put himself on a platform with his performances at Liverpool over the past few seasons. I just can’t see him having a future in that red shirt – for sure.
“If they can get that kind of money for three or four players on the fringe like Williams, wow…that could be a nice little boost to the transfer budget.”
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The verdict: Ward’s first move
Although there is little question as to whether Williams is a Premier League level operator having already made 13 top-flight outings in a fledgeling career, the 18-cap Wales ace is unlikely to usurp surefire starter Alexander-Arnold at Anfield and was often overlooked in favour of Joe Gomez and even James Milner.
Therefore, it seems inevitable that the Welshman will seek more regular first-team action this summer having contributed so heavily at Fulham in recent months, particularly in light of Liverpool’s reported pursuit of Aberdeen youngster Calvin Ramsay.
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One thing that is definite, new sporting director Ward will be tasked with emulating his predecessor Michael Edwards in extracting the maximum possible fee for outgoings to fund possible signings for Jurgen Klopp’s squad, and it looks like the sale of Williams could be the first.
In other news: BBC man stunned by ‘obscene’ news coming out of Liverpool, read more here
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