Deal done: Liverpool finalise defender extension after January talks

01/02/2025 12:10 PM

Rhys Williams is now understood to have extended his loan spell at Morecambe.

The English defender, with nine senior Liverpool appearances under his belt, will remain at the League 2 outfit after penning a new deal until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

The news in question was confirmed on X (formerly Twitter), with the initial deal having been set to expire in January.

Liverpool defender Rhys Williams has extended his loan spell with Morecambe until the end of 2024-25.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 2, 2025

The 23-year-old has racked up 25 appearances for the Shrimps (across all competitions) and scored two goals.

Morecambe currently sit second from bottom in 23rd in the League 2 table with 20 points secured so far.

Williams has spent much of his senior career floating about on loan, enjoying spells with the likes of Swansea City and Blackpool.

Derek Adams celebrates loan arrangement

Morecambe boss Derek Adams expressed his delight at being able to keep hold of the young centre-half for the remainder of the campaign.

"It's great for him because I think he's gone from strength to strength since being here," the 49-year-old was quoted by morecambefc.com.

"He enjoys the Club, he enjoys working with the staff, the players, and I think that's very important.

"Quite easily, he could've moved on but that could've stopped his growth pattern, and I think staying here, playing week in week out, will benefit him in the long run."

With Williams sadly highly unlikely to see senior playing minutes in the future, we're pleased to see his development in the game being apparently well looked after in Lancashire.

Given that the likes of Joe Gomez and the highly promising Jarell Quansah (21) are populating the ranks beyond Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, it's difficult to see where an opportunity would have come.

We'd strongly expect Liverpool to sell the player at the next available opportunity given his current terms with the club are set to expire in the summer of 2026.

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