Rhys Williams (footballer, born 2001)

Rhys Williams (born 3 February 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen, on loan from Premier League club Liverpool.

Rhys Williams
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-02-03) 3 February 2001[1]
Place of birth Preston, England[2]
Height 6 ft 5 in (1.95 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back[3]
Team information
Current team
 Aberdeen (on loan from Liverpool)
Number 18
Youth career
2011–2019 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Liverpool 9 (0)
2019–2020 → Kidderminster Harriers (loan) 26 (1)
2021–2022 → Swansea City (loan) 5 (0)
2022–2023 → Blackpool (loan) 17 (0)
2023– → Aberdeen (loan) 0 (0)
International career‡
2019– England U18 4 (0)
2019– England U19 2 (0)
2020– England U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 December 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:11, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

Early life

Williams was born in Preston, Lancashire.[3]

Club career

Early career

Williams joined Liverpool's academy aged ten[4] and won the FA Youth Cup with the their youth team in 2019.[5] He joined Kidderminster Harriers on loan in August 2019.[6][7]

In September 2020, Williams signed a long-term contract with Liverpool.[8] He made his first-team debut for the club in the EFL Cup on 24 September 2020, against Lincoln City, partnering Virgil van Dijk in central defence.[9][10][11] On 21 October 2020, Williams came on as a 90th-minute substitute against AFC Ajax in the UEFA Champions League.[12] He made his second Champions League appearance the following week, where he came on as a 30th-minute substitute against FC Midtjylland after an injury to Fabinho. Liverpool went on to win 2–0, with Jürgen Klopp praising his performance after the game, saying to the press, "He did well, everything looks promising."[13] On 4 November 2020, Williams played the full ninety minutes in a Champions League tie at Atalanta, keeping a clean sheet in a 5–0 win. On 16 December 2020, he made his Premier League debut with a start in a 2–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur.[14] On 8 May, he slotted back alongside Nat Phillips in a 2–0 win over Southampton.[15] He went on to play every game in the heart of the defence for Liverpool as they finished third.

Loans

On 31 August 2021, Williams signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined Swansea City on loan, initially to last until 30 June 2022, but Liverpool recalled him on 20 January 2022.[16]

Williams's next loan move was to Blackpool, on 19 July 2022, for the duration of the 2022–23 season.[17] He made his debut for the club in a single-goal victory over Reading at Bloomfield Road on 29 July.[18] After 17 appearances with the Seasiders, Williams was recalled to Liverpool on 23 January 2023.[19]

After being recalled from Blackpool, Liverpool sent Williams on a season-long loan at Aberdeen.[20]

International career

Williams played for the England U18 team between March and May 2019, and was called up for the England U-19 team for the International Marbella Cup in October 2019.[21]

On 5 October 2020, Williams received his first call-up to the England U-21 squad,[22] and made his debut during a 3–3 draw against Andorra on 7 October 2020.[23]

Career statistics
As of match played 11 September 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2019–20 Premier League 000000000000
2020–21 Premier League 9020206[lower-alpha 1]0—190
Total 9020206000190
Kidderminster Harriers (loan) 2019–20 National League North 261————261
Swansea City (loan) 2021–22 Championship 5 0 1 0 1 0 — — 7 0
Blackpool (loan) 2022–23 Championship 17 0 - - - - 17 0
Career total 57130306000691
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Liverpool Academy

References
  1. "Rhys Williams: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. "Rhys Williams". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. "Rhys Williams: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  4. Carroll, Sam. "'It's interesting I've been noticed' – Loan star on Liverpool plan and international recognition". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  5. "Rhys Williams: 5 Things to Know About the Liverpool Youngster". 90min.com. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  6. "Profile – Rhys Williams". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  7. Carroll, James. "Rhys Williams joins Kidderminster on loan". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  8. "Rhys Williams signs new Liverpool contract". FourFourTwo. September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  9. Verrall, John (24 September 2020). "Report: 19-year-old to make Liverpool debut tonight, another teenager will also start". HITC. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  10. Carroll, Sam (24 September 2020). "Rhys Williams – Liverpool's next star defender compared with Van Dijk". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. Unwin, Will (24 September 2020). "Lincoln City v Liverpool and more: Carabao Cup third round – live!". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  12. "Ajax 0 Liverpool 1". BBC Sport. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  13. "Liverpool 2–0 Midtjylland: Jürgen Klopp's reaction". Liverpool F.C. October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  14. McNulty, Phil (16 December 2020). "Liverpool 2–1 Tottenham: Roberto Firmino's late winner sends Reds clear of Spurs at top". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. "Liverpool 2–0 Southampton: Klopp's side close on top four with Anfield win". BBC Sport. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  16. "Rhys Williams: Swansea City sign Liverpool defender on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  17. "Rhys Williams Joins The Seasiders". Blackpool F.C. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  18. "Blackpool edge past Reading through Connolly goal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  19. "Rhys Williams returns to Reds from Blackpool loan". Liverpool FC. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  20. Lusby, Jack (28 June 2023). "LFC confirm another loan deal as centre-back heads to Scotland". thisisanfield.com.
  21. "ENGLAND MU19S SQUAD SELECTED FOR GAMES WITH FRANCE AND BELGIUM IN SPAIN THIS OCTOBER". The Football Association. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  22. "BRANDON WILLIAMS, RHYS WILLIAMS AND SAM SURRIDGE JOIN MU21S AS FOUR WITHDRAW". The Football Association. 5 October 2020.
  23. "INJURY-TIME EQUALISER DENIES YOUNG LIONS THE POINTS IN U21 EURO QUALIFIER IN ANDORRA". The Football Association. 7 October 2020.
  24. "Liverpool crowned FA Youth Cup winners after beating Manchester City on penalties". The Daily Telegraph. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
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