Liverpool loanee Neco Williams has been praised by Wales boss Rob Page for his decision to join Fulham in January. The 20-yer-old has been in impressive form for Marco Silva’s side since arriving at CravenCottage.
Williams joined Fulham on transfer deadline day in January, when Fulham starlet Fabio Carvalho looked set to move in the other direction . However, it was the young Reds full-back who got a move over the line as he went in search of regular first team football.
And the Wales international has been a virtual ever-present since moving to the Championship leaders, starting every league game that he has been available for. Providing two assists in his first three games, Williams most recently caught the headlines for scoring an impressive brace in Fulham’s 5-1 win over Swansea, earlier this month.
His performances appear to have delighted Wales manager Rob Page, ahead of the upcoming international break. Page praised Williams for deciding to go out on loan and described the Liverpool youngster as being “full of confidence”, which he expects will benefit his performances on the international stage.
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"Great for Neco to make that decision (to join Fulham),” Page said. “He had to be brave and strong and say to Liverpool 'I'm not happy just sitting in the squad', where he's training with world class players day in day out. He wants to play week in, week out, and I've got nothing but respect for him for doing that and he'll benefit from having that experience.
"I thought Neco, in the last camp against Belgium, went to another level. He was playing on the left, as opposed to playing on the right where he plays for Fulham just behind Harry, but you can play him anywhere on the pitch. He's full of enthusiasm. He wants to improve and he wants to play for his country.
"When you've got that, you've got a recipe for success. He's in good form and that's really encouraging for me."
Page previously labelled Willams “outstanding” in his most recent caps for Wales . Playing in an unorthodox left-wingback position, Williams scored in his country’s victory over Belarus and played a vital role as his side earned an encouraging 1-1 draw with Belgium.
Despite seeing his first team opportunities at Liverpool limited by the presence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Williams did sign a long-term deal with the Reds in 2020. Speaking in February , Jurgen Klopp was keen to point out his move away from Anfield was only a temporary one, after Nat Phillips had also completed a loan move to Bournemouth.
“Their Liverpool stories are not over – they are merely on pause – so I don’t want my words to feel like a farewell,” he said. But both these players have made a massive contribution to our club in recent seasons.
“When I looked at the Championship table I noticed they are pretty close together at the top. Fingers crossed both Nat and Neco will be celebrating promotion come May. They are two boys who deserve success.”
