Liverpool hijacked Celtic’s deadline day move to sign Preston North End’s Ben Davies. he 25-year-old has swapped the Championship for Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League winners from last season. Davies had been expected to sign a pre-contract with Celtic but a deal never materialised allowing Liverpool to nip in and sign him.
However, today in the Merseyside Derby, Davies was on the bench as Klopp persisted with Jordan Henderson and Kabak in a defensive pairing. Captain Henderson was subbed off and instead of opting for the £2m signing from PNE, the charismatic German signalled for Nate Phillips to get on.
𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 injury for Liverpool as Henderson is replaced by Phillips! 🤕
Ben Davies overlooked on the bench again… pic.twitter.com/2tU7DC5HH3
— 90min (@90min_Football) February 20, 2021
What was the actually the point in buying Ben Davies? Seriously?
— FSG OUT (@ShaunlfcT) February 20, 2021
Henderson going off injured at CB, he brings on Nat Phillips over Ben Davies. Jurgen has been crying out for months about defensive injuries but genuinely deserves it all. How Ben is still on that bench is mind blowing. #pnefc #lfc
— North End News Feed (@PneNewsFeed) February 20, 2021
You can’t argue with the player rejecting a move to play with Liverpool and compete for the league and Champions League – especially with the amount of injuries in Jurgen Klopp’s side. However, Davies has been overlooked when there is a lack of defenders available at the club, what will his role be when Virgil Van Dijk, Matip or Gomez return to action? He will almost certainly be left to find himself a new club.
You wouldn’t bet against Celtic getting in touch with Liverpool in the summer in order to resurrect the deal to bring Davies to Celtic Park. Celtic are expecting a defensive overhaul in the summer and Davies appeared to be a priority signing, arriving with a pedigree in the English Championship and a thirst for success. The recruitment team will be well aware of his situation and even if he breaks through between now and the end of the season, you wouldn’t rule out an attempt by Celtic to bring him to Glasgow.
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