Neco Williams rewarded with new five-year deal at Liverpool FC

Neco Williams has put pen to paper on a new five-year deal, as a reward for his exponential rise into Jurgen Klopp’s first team.

The 19-year-old shot out of obscurity in 2019/20 to feature 11 times for the senior side across all competitions, picking up a Premier League medal in the process.

The young full-back has shown all the signs of slotting into the Reds’ system from his debut against Arsenal in the League Cup, and has since earned the role of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deputy.

Klopp was quick to “thank god that Neco is now here” after making “big steps in training” towards the back end of the campaign, and now he has been rewarded with a new five-year deal.

The Welshman joins fellow young breakout stars Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones in committing his future to the Reds.

The deal ties the 19-year-old to Liverpool until 2025, which falls in line with Liverpool’s desire to keep their squad together for the long haul.

The teenager has been with the club since under-nine level, converting from winger to right-back, and he signed his first professional contract at 17 in January 2019.

“Hopefully if I keep improving maybe my chance will come. Age doesn’t really matter at Liverpool and if you’re good enough you’re old enough,” Williams said at the time of his first deal.

These are words which he embodied as a debut arrived nine months later.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, July 22, 2020: Liverpool’s Neco Williams bites his winners' medal as the Reds are crowned Champions after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. The game was played behind closed doors due to the UK government’s social distancing laws during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Now, he is hoping for more after a “breakout season” with the club, believing he is a “better player” for training with the likes of Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson day in, day out.

“I don’t think there is a better place for me to work and keep going at it than here,” he told the club’s official website.

“Last season was my breakout season, but I think the more games I play now, the more I train, I feel I am becoming a better player.

“I feel I am developing a lot and, like I said before, learning off Trent and Robbo and getting their advice has helped me massively.

“In training I am learning from what they are doing, they are giving me advice on what to do attacking-wise and defensively.

“I am learning massively—there is no better place to be at the moment.”