Liverpool bought him as VAN DIJK'S REPLACEMENT and now he's gone
One of the Reds' most high risk bets failed to pay up in the end, despite initial confidence
Injuries are a great threat to a footballer's career, but also to a team's season. When Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk went down to Everton's Jordan Pickford on October 19 2020, the Reds' season pretty much ended there and there. Without their defensive talisman, Jurgen Klopp's gegenpress style lacked strenght at the back and Liverpool ended that 2020-21 season way off the pace of their previous season, and closer to a Europe League spot than that season's champions.
While everyone knew that replacing Van Dijk in that Liverpool squad, someone had to be brought in, and the Reds' choice was Ben Davies, a 25 year old centreback from Preston North End, in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football.
Ben Davies had the opportunity of his life at Liverpool
At the time, it was hauled as a smart signing, costing just £1.6 million and bringing a solid performer to a team that was in big need of help at the back. "We see the potential really. We see the quality and we see the potential as well because he's 25 and there's a lot to come for him...I know for him it's an opportunity and I see it exactly the same for us, that it's a really good thing to do", explained Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp about Davies at the time.
"The fact that he said yes shows he is confident. That's exactly what we need. ..It can be a wonderful story and it's all about Ben and me to make sure this story will be really great", carried on Klopp.
The story, however, didn't quite happen. For any reason, Davies never showed what Klopp needed to see at the training ground and was only ever an unused substitute for Liverpool that season. Davies was loaned out Sheffield United at the start of the 2021-22 season, where he'd play more often but in reality fail to set the world alight, with just 21 appearances that season for the Blades.
Ben Davies struggled to show why Liverpool signed him to cover the spot left by Van Dijk
Now, he'll be leaving for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, for £3 million plus another million in potential addons. It goes to show that it simply takes something different to have success at the top level, and why clubs put out massive amounts of money when they find a player who can do it.
Continue reading: United paid 40 MILLION for him and now they want to SWAP him
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