Rhys Williams stepped in to take over at the tail end of last season in magnificent fashion alongside Nat Phillips to ensure a good ending to Liverpool's season.
The young centre-back is now in pre-season, once again behind in the pecking order as the likes of VVD, Gomez and Matip return to the fold.
Speaking about that to liverpoolfc.com, Williams said: “I’m training with the best set of defenders in the world in my opinion, and the best defender in the world in Virg. Any time I get with them is a gain.
“It’s massive [to have Gomez, Matip and Van Dijk back in training]. We had major issues last season at centre-back, which obviously led to me coming in and doing the best I could.
“But seeing them come back – they’re all big characters amongst the boys so having them back is a massive boost for the team.
“I’m the second-youngest there, there’s only Billy [Koumetio] younger than me, so anything that I can pick up off them… they’ve had a lot of experience, played a lot of games, so anything I can take from his [Konate’s] game, from Joe, Joel, Virg, is a boost for me.”
Although he is now probably 6th in the pecking order, the 20-year-old has firmly established himself as one to keep an eye on for the future and could pose a threat to the current order if he continues his rapid rate of development.
