It’s not often new signings talk about the quality of Liverpool’s playing surface, but Ben Davies has spent his entire career so far in the lower leagues so it maybe makes more sense!
The 25-year-old’s first interview since arriving from Preston is brilliant – and made us smile last night – although that quickly changed when we saw the Joel Matip injury news.
With the Cameroonian out for the season though, Davies has a decent chance of regular minutes at some point.
We have no idea who Jurgen Klopp will pick as his first-choice central defensive partnership going forward, as both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have done well at the back – but both would prefer to be in midfield.
Nat Phillips has moved ahead of Rhys Williams in the pecking order, while Davies and Ozan Kabak will be busting a gut on the training ground to warrant some early minutes.
“Obviously it came as a bit of a surprise when it first came out but once you start to get your head around it, the opportunity that is in front of me is incredible and I’d be silly to let it wash up or not make the most of it and [I’ll] try to learn off the players you have just mentioned,” Davies told the official website.
“I think in the Championship, especially this season, I’ve felt more and more comfortable playing there and I can get through games, not with ease but fairly comfortably and I think now, regardless of where I was going to go, I was going to look to move on to get a new challenge. For it to be here, with the league champions, is obviously a bit surreal at the minute, but it’s something that I’m really going to get my teeth into and look forward to.
“I’ve never actually been to Anfield and I haven’t had a look around yet. I had a quick look out and had a look at the pitch and it looks like carpet, which obviously you’d expect. I haven’t actually walked out of the tunnel yet, so I’m looking forward to that. Just to be in this kind of atmosphere is brilliant.”
There’ll be a point next season, when Klopp has a plethora of healthy centre-backs to choose from, when he’ll have a serious job keeping them all happy – but that’s not something we need to worry about right now!
We’d like to see Davies get a debut v Brighton, with Hendo alongside him, but reckon the smart money is on Phillips retaining his spot for now.