‘RHYS IS THE MINI VIRGIL’
RISING STAR Williams has been compared to Van Dijk
JURGEN KLOPP should have no worries throwing Rhys Williams into the mix at Anfield today – he’s on a fast-track to follow Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool’s manager is sweating over his defensive options ahead of today’s blockbuster against Manchester United with Joel Matip rated as doubtful for the clash against the side that replaced them at the Premier League summit.
But according to Jimmy Shan (below), the boss who has overseen part of Williams’ development during the past 18 months, the rookie centre-half has everything it takes to follow the path set by the 2019 European Footballer of the Year.
Shan was interim manager at Kidderminster Harriers, where the teenage Williams had been sent to learn his trade.
And the impression the 19-year-old made on the former West Brom caretaker-gaffer was a lasting one.
Shan, who is now in charge of up-and-coming National League outfit Solihull Moors, said: “When a player from a club like Liverpool goes out on loan at such a young age, it’s an eyebrow-raiser. When they end up at Kidderminster Harriers, it’s even more of one.
“The parent club hasn’t just gone with the easier choice of putting him out at a non-league club on the doorstep.
“They’ve pushed him right out of his comfort zone.
“I’d been asked to step in and coach and, as a starting point, I went to watch one of
Kidderminster’s games, one Tuesday evening.
“I took one look at Rhys and thought to myself, ‘Van Dijk’.
“You could see it in the way he played, the way he looked, his physicality, the way he wears his hair, the position he played.
“As the game wore on you saw his game understanding, his quality on the ball, how he handles the ball in tight areas and his ability to pass forward accurately.
“What is overlooked sometimes is that academy football is so far away from the reality of first-team football. It’s a million miles away.
“But I do think the comparison with Van Dijk stacks up.
“He has the same athletic structure as Virgil, who is quicker than him at the moment. Rhys has another two years’ growth in him – at least.
“His body structure will become stronger. “He might pick up an extra yard of pace doing that. In terms of his ability, he has every opportunity for his career to take the same path.
“What Rhys has got though, which will be invaluable, is the opportunity to be in and around Van Dijk, to see how he works, watch him first-hand, communicate with him.”
Shan spoke to several managers in League One about Williams, and was sure the teenager was ready to make that step up. But Shan added: “To go from the National League North to the Premier League and Champions League... I never anticipated him taking that step with the ease which he has done.
“I’ll be interested to see where he ends up.”