Liverpool looking to repeat Harvey Elliott transfer trick

Liverpool's Rhys Williams is on the verge of a loan move to Championship side Swansea City.

The 20-year-old impressed when called upon last season by Jurgen Klopp's side. The Reds suffered a defensive injury crisis that propelled the youngster into the limelight.

Along with fellow rookie Nat Phillips, Williams caught the eye as he made 19 appearances in total.

Now, with a host of senior centre-halves back fit and available, Klopp is ready to allow Williams to get regular football in the second tier.

Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are all back to full fitness following long lay-offs last season, whilst the arrival of Ibrahima Konate has also pushed Williams further down the pecking order.

Rhys Williams

Swansea had come close to signing Williams last year but the deal fell through.

Now, Russell Martin is on the cusp of signing the youngster. Liverpool will hope that the move can work wonders for Williams, just as a similar switch did for Harvey Elliott.

Elliott spent last term on loan at Blackburn Rovers and made 42 appearances. Upon his return to Anfield this summer he has forced his way into the starting midfield.

After coming off the bench in the Premier League opener at Norwich, Elliott has gone on to start the matches against Burnley and Chelsea.

Harvey Elliott's loan spell at Blackburn Rovers last season has helped him get into the Liverpool first team

Klopp said of Elliott's maturity recently: "Everybody wants to talk to me about Harvey and I understand absolutely - when an 18-year-old boy plays such a mature game I can understand why everyone was asking, but I was not surprised he played like this.

"That is exactly how he has trained now for six or seven weeks since we are back, since he is back from loan."

Williams is now set to follow a similar path but he has been loaned out before. He was at Kidderminster in the National League North in 2019 and made 26 appearances.

Swans' boss Martin refused to namecheck the Liverpool youngster but admits he is hopeful of bringing players in before tonight's 11pm deadline.

He told Swansea's website: "We are working hard, there are a couple of bits that seem to be coming together. But this is football and the transfer window, so things can change very quickly.

"We are clear in what we want, I am not overly emotional about things in terms of having a bad result at the weekend and thinking we have to do this and that.

"We are going to be competitive, but we need one or two in to help in certain positions and that has not changed over the last four weeks.

"That has been a feeling of ours and that has become clear with every game.

"We are working hard to make sure we help the guys out, and hopefully we can make it happen."

Swansea, play-off finalists last season, have won just one of their opening five games this term.

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