A number of the current Liverpool starting XI have benefited from loan moves in the past to gain some vital senior football experience. Those who are out on loan this season will be hoping to develop so that they can eventually make it a step closer to Jurgen Klopp’s team. Here is a look at how some of Liverpool’s players are performing at their new clubs in the Championship.
Ben Davies – Sheffield United
Defender Ben Davies has yet to make his debut for Liverpool. He signed for the club in January 2020 to add some cover to the defence following several notable injuries.
Davies jumped at the chance to go on loan to Sheffield United during the summer. He knows the Championship very well from his time at Preston and the experienced defender has made a great start with the Blades, playing seven games so far. Promisingly, Sheffield United are currently priced 5/1 in the English Championship betting odds for promotion this season.
At the end of the campaign, Davies will be hoping he has done enough in Yorkshire to get his chance to prove himself at Liverpool. The 26-year-old up-and-comer has plenty more to give at this point in his career, especially to the Merseyside team, and there is some hope for him as Klopp must have seen something in the player to sign him in the first place.
Rhys Williams – Swansea City
Rhys Williams played 19 times for Liverpool last season, including six appearances in the Champions League. In addition, Klopp was very complimentary of the defender in many of his post-match interviews in the 2020/2021 campaign.
With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez now fully fit, it was blatantly apparent that Williams was likely to get far fewer chances to shine this season. Therefore, the 20-year-old opted to join Swansea on loan back in August. It has been a tough start in Wales for the Liverpool defender, having been subbed off at half-time in his second game for the club against Luton Town when the Swans were losing 0-3.
Williams has not played since that appearance against Luton, but he is likely to get his chance to prove his qualities in the near future. The Englishman will be with the Welsh club until the end of the season.
Sepp van den Berg – Preston North End
Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg is out on his second season at Preston. He joined the Lancashire club back in January for the final half of the 2020/2021 campaign and he enjoyed himself that much, that he signed up for another 12-month deal.
Van den Berg has played four games for Liverpool since he joined the club PEC Zwolle. He is a player the club will be hoping develops into a regular starter in the first team and the experience he is currently gaining within the Championship is proving very valuable, as he looks to be improving with every game.
The Dutchman has played at centre-back and right-back in Alex Neil’s team, which shows his versatility. He is a big fan favourite at Deepdale and he will be doing all he can to help them finish in the top six this season.
All three of the above players will hopefully return to Anfield next summer on the back of a great campaign at their respective clubs.