Neco Williams has confirmed he’ll return to Liverpool this summer, but has hinted that he could leave Anfield again in search of first team football.
The Wales international joined Fulham on loan in January and has since helped them win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Making 14 appearances for the Cottagers so far, the temporary move has been a success for the right-back and he is now looking to follow up his title win with the Reds in 2019/20 with a Championship winners’ medal.
Following the success of his loan in the capital, the ECHO understands that both Liverpool and Williams would prefer the defender to stay at Anfield next season. However, both parties are also aware that might not be possible, with the 21-year-old hungry to be playing regularly.
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His loan move to Fulham has only enhanced that desire and with a potential World Cup place to play for ahead of this winter’s tournament in Qatar, Williams knows how important it is to be playing regularly. And while he’s confident he’ll be returning to Liverpool a better player than when he left back in January, he’s determined to now take the next steps in his career.
“Right now, I just want to play football week in and week out,” Williams said. “I want to play as much as possible and gain as much experience as possible, and so far it has definitely helped me.
“I’ve improved as a player and getting promoted is a nice one to put on the CV. It’s been a great loan, but I’ll be going back to Liverpool in the summer, feeling like a more mature player and definitely an improved player.
"I’ve won the Prem and hopefully I can go on to win the Championship now. I have gained a lot of experience in a short amount of time.
“I've gone from starting a Champions League game against AC Milan and beating them 2-1 to playing Barnsley. So I have gained quite a lot of valuable and varied experience at such a young age.
“I want to be a Premier League player. For me, I think it's the best and the toughest league in the world. And you always want to be playing against the best players in the world, you always want to play in the best league in the world.
“For me, that's the Premier League and that's what I want to do with my career just to play as many games as possible in the Premier League.”
Williams isn’t the only player in the Fulham squad with Liverpool links after the Cottagers signed his Wales team-mate Harry Wilson from the Reds last summer. And the winger, who has scored 10 goals and recorded a division-high 16 assists in an impressive first season with the club, played his part in his compatriot following him to the capital.
“Having him there has made it 100% easier,” Williams said of Wilson. “When Fulham were interested, I gave him a quick call and spoke about their plans and he couldn’t praise the club enough, and he dragged me in.
“It’s been a massive help, I played with him at Liverpool and at Wales, so I know the kind of player he is and I know him well. It was a long journey down, I got to the training ground, gave him a call and he came out, met me and then brought me into the ground.
“He got me settled in with the team and helped me get to know them all. If you look at his stats as well, what he’s done this season is incredible. Being nominated as the Championship player of the season, just shows his ability and shows what quality he has.”
Although Williams is away at Fulham, he’s not been forgotten back at Liverpool with the defender still in contact with his team-mates as they themselves chase an unprecedented quadruple. And while he’s understandably closer to the younger players in the squad, he highlighted two members of Jurgen Klopp ’s side in particular as vital to their success.
“I’m closer to the younger lads, I’m in contact with them,” he admitted. “When they see me scoring, they send me little jokes. We have a bit of banter, as I’m not known for scoring. One of the assistant coaches texted me congratulating me on the promotion with Fulham, which was nice.
“The big characters in the dressing rooms are always important. It is normally the senior lads with the most experience. You don’t really get the young lads being the big ones in the changing rooms.
“At Liverpool, you’ve got the likes of James Milner and Jordan Henderson. They're the characters in the changing rooms who will tell you what’s what.”
While it remains to be seen if Williams will remain with Liverpool next season, the defender can’t speak highly enough of his Reds manager. Klopp gave the Wales international his debut back in 2019, with the 21-year-old going on to make 33 appearances for the club to date.
And recalling what the German said to him ahead of his debut, where he marked the occasion with an assist in a 5-5 draw with Arsenal, the right-back hailed the ‘phenomenal’ work Klopp does behind the scenes to get the very best from all of his players.
“A few days before (we played Arsenal) we started doing shape work and I seem to be in starting XI in that shape work,” Williams, who is a McDonald’s Fun Football Ambassador and was speaking at a free Fun Football session, recalled. “So, I had an idea but no one told me that I was starting and I was just thinking to myself, ‘This can't be true’.
“Then Klopp came up to me and said, “You’re starting tomorrow.” Before the game he gave me a little pep talk saying, ‘Listen, don't worry about it. You'll probably be nervous but that will stop when that whistle goes, and you'll be completely fine’.
“And that's exactly what happened, as soon as that whistle goes you just completely focus on the game.
“Obviously, he is one of the best managers in the world. You see it now with what Liverpool are doing and what he’s done with players to transform them into who they are now.
“With the players he has bought in and how he has improved those players is phenomenal and he’s the best coach I have ever worked with. What he has done to players especially this season and how he transforms them into the players they are now is incredible.”
To give your child their grassroots debut and for the latest information about McDonald’s Fun Football sessions which provide free football for children aged 5-11, visit McDonalds.com/Football and follow @FunFootballUK on Twitter and Instagram.
