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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Liverpool took transfer gamble on deadline day with no guarantee of success

It wasn't the transfer business between Liverpool and Fulham that Reds fans had been eagerly anticipating.

But the news Neco Williams would spend the rest of the season at the Championship leaders made him the latest Reds player currently out on loan.

Earlier on Monday's transfer deadline day, Nat Phillips had agreed his own temporary stay in the second tier having switched to Bournemouth until the end of the campaign.

The duo, who both moved in search of regular minutes, will be hoping for better fortune than two other Liverpool players.

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Both Rhys Williams and Leighton Clarkson had their loan spells cut short at Championship sides Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers respectively due to not featuring sufficiently enough for the Reds' liking.

The pair will now spend the rest of the campaign at Liverpool, Williams ostensibly as the first-team's fifth-choice centre-back, Clarkson working primarily with the under-23 squad.

A total of 14 players are currently on a temporary stop away from Liverpool, with varying degrees of success.

So, how are they faring?

Sepp van den Berg (Preston North End)

Arguably the biggest success of Liverpool's loanees having returned to Championship side Preston, where he spent the second half of last season. Operating at centre-back or right wing-back, the 20-year-old has featured in all bar 167 minutes of the campaign and played against the Reds in the Carabao Cup in October.

Sheyi Ojo (Millwall)

Ojo will leave Liverpool when his contract expires in the summer, with this his seventh loan move having impressed most recently at Cardiff City last season. The 24-year-old left winger, who scored in the mini-derby win in Premier League 2 against Everton in August before departing on deadline day, featured regularly in the Championship until a recent injury that is likely to keep in out for the next two months.

Ben Davies (Sheffield United)

An exception on this list given 26-year-old Davies almost certainly has no long-term future at Anfield, such are the plethora of centre-back options at the club. He has been a Championship regular for the Blades when not injured, making 14 appearances thus far but sidelined for the past two months.

Jake Cain (Newport County)

The 20-year-old midfielder took a while to settle in League Two, despite making his debut on the day he moved to the Welsh side back in August. Cain played for just 62 minutes in the league before his first assist in late October, and has benefitted from a change of manager under new boss James Rowberry, featuring in 13 of 17 games including starting the last five to help Newport up to third.

Paul Glatzel (Tranmere Rovers)

Glatzel appeared in the first five League Two games of the campaign but never in his favoured position as striker, and was then restricted to EFL Trophy outings for the best part of two months. The 20-year-old has contributed five goals and two assists in his last eight outings - but that it has come over a period of almost three months underlines how injury has affected his campaign. He started up front in the 1-0 win over Stevenage this week that keeps Tranmere in second.

Ben Woodburn (Hearts)

Woodburn, another who is out of contract in the summer, has featured in 18 out of 22 games for Hearts since making the move north of the border, netting three goals with his versatility underlined by starring as centre forward, on both wings and in two midfield roles. The 22-year-old has helped the Edinburgh side to third in the Scottish Premiership.

Adam Lewis (Livingston)

The 22-year-old played in five different positions and was, according to Livingston boss David Martindale, coming into form when his campaign was disrupted by a fractured metatarsal suffered in late September. Lewis subsequently returned to Liverpool for treatment before going back to the Scottish Premier League side, and has been on the bench for the last four matches.

Luis Longstaff (Queen’s Park)

The 20-year-old forward has started five of the last eight Scottish League One games for Queen's Park having been restricted to bench duty for the first two months of his stay. He has scored twice in 18 appearances so far.

Jakub Ojrzynski (Caernarfon Town)

Ojrzynski, an 18-year-old goalkeeper who made the bench for Liverpool's first team at Sheffield United last season, has started every game for which he has been available in the Cymru Premier in Wales.

Vitezslav Jaros (Notts County)

Jaros, who played twice last term for Liverpool in the EFL Trophy, spent between March and November last year on loan in Ireland with St Patrick's Athletic, where he was named player of the season and helped them finish second and win the FAI Cup final against Bohemians. He will now spend the rest of the season on loan at National League side Notts County.

Liam Hughes (Stalybridge Celtic)

The 20-year-old Northern Irish goalkeeper, who has twice been on the bench for the first team, joined Norther Premier League side Stalybridge Celtic at the start of January until the end of the season and has already made six appearances.

Anderson Arroyo (Mirandes)

The 22-year-old centre-back has been a regular in Spain's La Liga 2 during his fifth loan spell in less than four years at Liverpool, having arrived in January 2018.

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