Jurgen Klopp explained that Ben Davies’ lack of appearances for Liverpool is due to the fact that the centre-half is yet to fully adapt to life at Liverpool.
The German compared the defender’s circumstances to Andy Robertson’s when he first joined the club, reminding the reporters gathered that it took the fullback “half a year in a normal year” to get up to speed.
Ozan Kabak has already been thrown in the deep end, having been subjected to a baptism of fire in the Reds’ 3-1 collapse against Leicester last month.
"Hopefully they can play all the games. Ben Davies has to adapt, that is clear. Famous story is Andy Robertson, took him half a year in a normal year. Ben is a really good player but he has to get used to all the stuff here. We have options."
— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) March 13, 2021
Klopp on Davies: "I don't tell Ben now he just has to train. It will take as long as it takes. It was clear we would not start with 2 new CBs if we didn't have to. In the last line, they need to be used to each other. Ben will play when he plays."
— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) March 13, 2021
Will we ever see Ben Davies take to the field for Liverpool?
The former Preston North End centre-back is yet to make his debut for Liverpool, having watched loan signing Kabak already take to the field on numerous occasions.
With the Turkey international and Phillips forming a potentially effective partnership in the heart of defence, Klopp hasn’t had a clear opportunity to hand the 25-year-old any minutes.
There are some suspicions over the Englishman’s quality in comparison to what currently remains of our centre-back options, though the manager has repeatedly made it clear that Davies needs time to get the hang of things at Anfield.
Once Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez return, however, even the most optimistic of us would have to cast doubt over the defender’s chances of gaining any game time considering his current placement in the pecking order.
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM, HERE!