Celtic had to figure out their defensive frailty in winter to stay in the title hunt and were closing in on Ben Davies before Liverpool jumped in to secure his services from Preston and North End. The Reds had to bolster the backline with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all ruled out for the remainder of the campaign and the Englishman, available for a minuscule figure, was touted to be a quick fix along with Ozan Kabak from Schalke.
The move surprised many considering Liverpool’s pulling power across the globe. However, this proved to be a major setback for the Hoops, who had little time to find an alternative before the window was slammed shut. Davies had some injury issues after joining the Merseysiders, but the gaffer is yet to hand him his debut even after regaining his fitness as declared by the club’s medical team. Jurgen Klopp has decided not to rush the 25-year-old centre-half and is working on ensuring his long-term future at Anfield.
“Ben Davies had a test to adapt, it was always clear – a lot of players came here to Liverpool and the most famous story is maybe Andy Robertson. It took him half a year in a normal season to settle in. Ben is a really good player but he has to get used to all the stuff here as well. What we have now is options and hopefully, it will stay like this.”
Revealed the charismatic German as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Why Celtic Still Stand A Chance To Sign Davies
Meanwhile, the Reds are aiming to bring in one high-profile defender during the summer window to challenge and cover Gomez and Van Dijk from the next term onwards. The champions must not consider Fabinho as the fourth-choice centre-back in case they find a suitor to offload Joel Matip. The fan favourite Cameroonian has hardly put a foot wrong but is rarely available due to persistent injury problems over the past couple of campaigns.
Ozan Kabak would be a decent option to maintain the depth in case the loan move from Schalke is made permanent, whereas the rise of Nat Phillips has put the former Lilywhites star further down the pecking order irrespective of Klopp’s comments.
The Bhoys’ season-long loan for Shane Duffy has turned out to be a catastrophe. They are forced to promote youngster Stephen Welsh alongside Kristoffer Ajer amid Christopher Jullien’s injury blow and therefore, require significant reinforcement as soon as the season is over. Liverpool, too, must make the call on Davies’ future and Celtic, being his long-term admirers, should keep close tabs on how things shape up in the forthcoming future.
