Liverpool are reportedly among the favourites to land Swansea City defender Ashley Williams this summer, and with the club desperately in need of new defenders, the Wales International is an enticing option to replace the seemingly outgoing Martin Skrtel. Arsenal are also monitoring Williams' situation, and it appears that Michael Laudrup is slowly coming around to the realty that the defender could leave in the next transfer window.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Laudrup admitted that a summer move for Williams could be on the agenda. He said:
"When a player is doing well it [a transfer] is possible.
"He has done great which may be why some bigger clubs want him. He has had a great season, but lets see what the player wants and take it from there. To talk about it now does not make sense."
Wales manager Chris Coleman is convinced that Williams can be a success at one of the big clubs in the Premier League, and in an interview with the BBC last night, he enthused:
"If I was manager of a top-four club I'd have no qualms in looking at Ashley Williams and trying to sign him. I'm not surprised that he's being linked with big clubs. He's a terrific defender and a great personality [and has] a great mentality towards football"
Over the last few months, £10m-rated Williams has been repeatedly linked with a move to Anfield, and according to a recent report in The Mirror, the Reds are in pole position to sign him:
"Liverpool have emerged as favourites to land the defender. Williams has already indicated a preference for Anfield if he is allowed to leave in the summer".
With Brendan Rodgers seemingly losing confidence in the increasingly error-prone Martin Skrtel, new central defenders are on the agenda, and a summer bid for the £10m-rated Swansea and Wales captain seems inevitable.
When asked in February about the possibility of Williams moving to Anfield, Joe Allen made it clear that he's a fan of the idea. He told the Daily Mail:
"Ashley [Williams] has grown enormously as a player. He has done fantastic job for Swansea in that regard and he has been first class for Wales. He has got a lot of experience over the last few seasons at a high level, and I’m sure he would be pretty comfortable if he was to play at an even higher level"
One massive positive about Williams is his fitness and consistency. For the last 8 years, he's averaged 48 games per season, and he's never injured, which is a clear bonus when you consider Daniel Agger's injury history.
Statistically speaking, Williams is performing better defensively (overall) than both Agger and Skrtel this season, but is he the imperious, commanding Sami Hyypia-esque presence at the back that the club so desperately needs?
As a replacement for Jamie Carragher and/or Martin Skrtel, Williams a good option, but Liverpool have never filled the gigantic void left by Hyypia, and until that happens, the club will (IMO) continue to struggle defensively.
Sami Hyypia - what a legend. One of the club's greatest ever players IMO. Still sorely missed.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Laudrup admitted that a summer move for Williams could be on the agenda. He said:
"When a player is doing well it [a transfer] is possible.
"He has done great which may be why some bigger clubs want him. He has had a great season, but lets see what the player wants and take it from there. To talk about it now does not make sense."
Wales manager Chris Coleman is convinced that Williams can be a success at one of the big clubs in the Premier League, and in an interview with the BBC last night, he enthused:
"If I was manager of a top-four club I'd have no qualms in looking at Ashley Williams and trying to sign him. I'm not surprised that he's being linked with big clubs. He's a terrific defender and a great personality [and has] a great mentality towards football"
Over the last few months, £10m-rated Williams has been repeatedly linked with a move to Anfield, and according to a recent report in The Mirror, the Reds are in pole position to sign him:
"Liverpool have emerged as favourites to land the defender. Williams has already indicated a preference for Anfield if he is allowed to leave in the summer".
With Brendan Rodgers seemingly losing confidence in the increasingly error-prone Martin Skrtel, new central defenders are on the agenda, and a summer bid for the £10m-rated Swansea and Wales captain seems inevitable.
When asked in February about the possibility of Williams moving to Anfield, Joe Allen made it clear that he's a fan of the idea. He told the Daily Mail:
"Ashley [Williams] has grown enormously as a player. He has done fantastic job for Swansea in that regard and he has been first class for Wales. He has got a lot of experience over the last few seasons at a high level, and I’m sure he would be pretty comfortable if he was to play at an even higher level"
One massive positive about Williams is his fitness and consistency. For the last 8 years, he's averaged 48 games per season, and he's never injured, which is a clear bonus when you consider Daniel Agger's injury history.
Statistically speaking, Williams is performing better defensively (overall) than both Agger and Skrtel this season, but is he the imperious, commanding Sami Hyypia-esque presence at the back that the club so desperately needs?
As a replacement for Jamie Carragher and/or Martin Skrtel, Williams a good option, but Liverpool have never filled the gigantic void left by Hyypia, and until that happens, the club will (IMO) continue to struggle defensively.
Sami Hyypia - what a legend. One of the club's greatest ever players IMO. Still sorely missed.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
I hope he does sign for us instead of Spurs. Williams is a top defender and would balance well with Agger.
ReplyDeletehope he dose not come after his comments on suarez sure to bring tension in the dressing room
ReplyDeletefor 10 million pounds ? i would say no !! De vrij maybe !!! he is young and is equally good if not better .. and would cost more or less the same !
ReplyDeleteHes such a tank. I love him. I would gladly see him in a Liverpool shirt. Him or Chico Flores. Probably cant have both. and I heard that Laudrup is worried Real Madrid want Flores? that would be a bit shit for Swansea if they lost both their centre backs. If we can get him for 10 Million that would be an absolute steal.
ReplyDeleteBut to be honest - I doubt Williams will move willingly; I mean it would have to be for big money that Swansea would just have to accept (like Joe). Hes been at Swansea for a while now - hes also their captain (as he is the Welsh Captain). I'm sure he'd like to lead Swansea into Europe; having been there for the years he has been. Part of me would rather he stayed there too for that reason.
...quite a contradiction there. Put it this way - I'd rather he came to us than Arsenal!!
williams made some angry comments(as you do every day). footballers do
ReplyDeletethis kind of thing. if he comes to us, none of that will be a problem.
if its such a big problem for williams, he would not join.
jason carr you are a comedy character who talks a lot of waffle. have you nothing better to do? people slag jamie off for being negative, but you are the most negative person on this site.
f off back to wool land btw.
(sorry jamie had to do it as that guy is highly annoying and very wooly)
Williams is a truly a very good player. And would fit well into Liverpool's team. However due to us paying over the odds for Allen I suspect their chairman is going to play hardball.
ReplyDeletePast transfer mistakes will haunts us.
If he moved to liverpool it would only be for the money not football reasons since it would be no more than a sideways move. Personally i cant see him leaving swansea city, they are growing and have an exciting future which williams would be a big part of
ReplyDeleteHe may be a decent player but after the comments he made about Suarez it would be a bit of a slap in the face to him.
ReplyDeleteLike the controversy or not Suarez has carried us all season and the last thing i'd want to do if cause tension between anyone and our best player.
Didn't we beat Swansea 5-0? How good could he be? Pass...please.
ReplyDeleteWilliams didn't play in that game.
ReplyDeleteWilliams made the same amount of defensive errors as Matrin Skrtel this season and on that basis he wouldn't much of an improvement on him
ReplyDeleteNot for 10million ,I think we could get better for that kind of money.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm not too keen on this transfer deal either. He's decent, but not great. I don't think he's any better than Skrtel. I don't think he's worth 10m. He's not so young. I'd pay maybe 5m for him and use him as backup.....in short, we need a really strong centreback this summer, and he just isn't likely to be that.
ReplyDeleteMamadou Sakho,Stefan De Vrij,Matss Hummells and Neven Subotic is realy good centre back LFC must get.They all are still young and able to assist or score the goal,that will more advantage for LFC.LFC must searching for Sami Hyppia replacement.He is not just only centreback but can scoring important goal when we all need him to save.
ReplyDeleteDisagree, while Swansea are doing well, Liverpool have a higher chance of getting top four than Swansea do. Swansea are having there best season ever, where as we are still above them, and in a season of change.
ReplyDeleteYes Sir! Williams is a good player, and would fit in well. After the Allen thing though, I don`t know if BR will go back, as he has been given a lot of stick about signing from old clubs. In terms of a player, he would improve our defense, and not cost the world, so seems a good match.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of what he said about Suarez, well tbh, as much as I love Suarez, I can see him leaving in the summer anyway. He is up there as one of the best players in the world right now, yet plays for a club who isn`t even in CL. I just can`t see him staying much longer. Dispite what he may say, I would imagine every single top club in the world would want him, and who could blame him for going. I mean, if Barca, Madrid, Bayern, City came in for him, it would be hard to say, nah stay here. The only thing I hope is that we get a nice sum for him, and if it happens it happens right at the start of the window, so we have time to replace him. If we are lucky, he may give us one more year to make that top four, but even then, he is better than playing for a club who finishes just fourth, his talents mean he should be winning titles year per year.
Swansea have punched above their weight but eventually their star performers will be sold and managers will go unless they can find more players like michu or managers like laudrap they will suffer. The bottom line is that they cannot compete financially (or otherwise) with clubs in the top 10 of the epl, and are certainly not on the same level as liverpool.
ReplyDeleteI do however agree that they are growing and have an exciting future, however that future is at best establishing themselves as a premier league team and not challenging for the top 4 as zanatos rightly points out.
I think Williams is an organiser, which is good. If he comes in, he'll be a replacement/competition for Agger, since both are left-footers. I think Agger's susceptibility on set-pieces overrides all his other qualities, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI think we still need a centre-half who isn't necessarily vocal (do we need one of those too), but one who commands through his performance a la Vidic or, as JK says, Hyypia.
£10 mil seems a bit steep, but sometimes you have to overpay in the short term to keep the long term in sight.
You cant honestly be that stupid lol.when we played lfc with our first team at your ground last we Stuffed you for FUN and went on to win the League Cup Final ??? we as you already know im sure played with our B team at best, thats why and only why u were left by KING Laudrup to beat us in the fashion you did!!! enuf ranting lol !!!
ReplyDeleteSwansea have out punched and out played the vast majority of Premier league teams Lfc one of them.I was at Anfield when your fans clapped us off the pitch m8. So i dont agree with you at all.As far as managers go losing Rodgers to lfc was a godsend as were now an even better team than when Rodgers was here also our chairman has an abundance of European knowledge of Managers hence why he's already come out an said the club are preparing for Laudrup's departure in a few years time so non of us are worried there.
ReplyDeleteAs for our players, That could be said about any top team.If lfc lost Suarez in summer to PSG or Real Madrid would all lfc fans be as confident going into the next season? I dont think so and dont kid yourself thinking otherwise.
Admittedly lfc have more cash behind them than SCFC but if you didnt then you couldn't of bought Joe Allen for 15 million now could you..........Money doesn't make a good team playing good football does..
hope you get a ban after the new comment policy if not i will revert to type lol;-)
ReplyDeletesorry m8 swansea have european football next season something we will still have to fight for
ReplyDeleteliverpool will win epl in 3 yrs time swansea will be relegation fodder next year michu and the likes wont hang around too long in the championship lol
ReplyDeleteEuropa League??? I don`t think that has much pulling power at all for hardly any player, esp ones would rather move up the ladder. I can`t see a player staying at a smaller club, purely cause they won a cup to gain entry to europes second rate comp.
ReplyDeleteSwansea have done well, and full credit to them for that, but anyone who thinks Swansea has a better pulling power than Liverpool is sadly mistaken. The only reason a player may pick Swansea over Liverpool, is if they feel they will get more game time at Swansea, or are a local lad.
ReplyDeletePersonally I wouldn`t be that worried if Suarez did leave. He is no doubt a world class talent, but I`ve seen it many times before, world class player leaves club, not just us, and people panic, then that club goes on to do better the next season. Look at Utd, it happens all the time there. Same for Arsenal, although they are suffering a bit now, but mainly cause they pocket the cash. If we spent the money from Suarez on more players, I would be just as confident. Now if we lost all our top players in one go, then I would agree with you. but as you say, that is the same for any club. If you guys lose Michu, I don`t think it will affect you that badly, because I believe you will get good money for him, and thus actually be a stronger team with the new players you get in. Same is for us with Suarez.
Of course I don`t want Suarez to leave, but if it happens, just like it did with Torres, and many before, the game goes on.
Jaimie, on the topic of Discus, I really dont mind the new layout.
ReplyDeleteYou won one cup (1)swansea city Liverpool FC (63)
ReplyDelete1st division (18)
2nd Division (4)
FA cup (7)
league cup (8)
charity/communityshield 15
european CUP (5)
UEFA CUP (3)
super cup (3) total 63
SHUT UP
At last Jason, I actually agree with you on this. Others seem to have missed this point.
ReplyDeleteIf you think you can keep finding bargains like michu and have no worries about replacing laudrap then good luck to you. My point is that Swansea are and always will be a small club compared to Liverpool m8.
ReplyDeletesecond rate or not its better than nothing it was not second rate in 2001 m8
ReplyDeletejack , rodgers done wonders for swansea , we have a massive supporters club too jack and money does help very much , ask your board of directors , ,
ReplyDeletewe do had kelly n wisdom...n wilson??? is a headache how get rid current b4 recruit rite???
ReplyDeleteI think he may go to a top four team this summer (which would obviously rule Liverpool out of the equation)
ReplyDeleteIf we can get solid defenders in, keep Suarez and continue this momentum, I'd be looking at a solid challenge NEXT season. Maybe not a win but definitely pushing for it until May. I'm not being delusional here, I'm an intelligent guy and I have seen us playing better football than we were in 08/09.
ReplyDeleteIs Williams the answer to our defence? we'll never know until he signs, IF he signs. Xabi Alonso is another must sign this summer and, if Reina does decide to leave or is sold, then we sould use our good relationship with Monchengladbach to get ter Stegen as a replacement.
I'd prefer that too.
ReplyDeletei hope we buy him , i believe next season will be amazing for liverpool , im proud to be a scouse too ,
ReplyDelete2001 was a long time ago, and as I said, until the end of the season the deal wont be done anyway. We might be in a EL spot by then. Regardless of if we are or not, I doubt that would stop him coming, the future chances of success are far greater with us than with Swansea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but I would hope that if Rodgers wants him he would talk to suarez about it first. Williams did seem to say nice things about suarez after the match earlier this season. The media would make a big deal about it, but if suarez is happy with it then why not?
ReplyDeleteSwansea will struggle next season playing thursday and sunday, look at newcastle this season.
ReplyDeleteit was 0-0 at anfield? unless you mean the league cup game.. when it was our B team.
ReplyDeletethis is pretty unfair. say this when he makes a negative comment, not when he makes a perfectly reasonable one. Your comment is the negative one, why mention him? unnecessary. William's comments werent just in some interview, he published them in his book, which i think makes it more serious. He also said he wanted to knock suarez out and that he hates him far more than any other player in the world. Cant remember too many people saying things like that
ReplyDeleteonce some things have been said its hard to forget
ReplyDeletecheers m8 ;-)
ReplyDeletecompletly agree but i would rather play thursdays than not at all in europe
ReplyDeletemonths of pointless negativity is bound to have a backlash.
ReplyDeleteWilliams is the old spice wearing type of man LFC need at the back. were weak as pish in that dept.