Championship duo Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City are reportedly keen on signing out of favour Liverpool defender Ben Davies.
According to Sky Sports, Liverpool outcast Ben Davies is attracting attention from Championship duo Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City ahead of the 2022/23 season.
The Englishman was a surprise January signing for the Reds amid the injury-stricken 2020/21 season. The loss of their recognised centre-back trio of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez left Jurgen Klopp in a pickle at the turn of 2021.
This forced Liverpool to dip into the January transfer market to sign Ozan Kabak (on loan) and Ben Davies to mitigate their losses. While the former did make first-team appearances, the latter is yet to play a single minute for Jurgen Klopp’s senior side.
The arrival of Ibrahima Konate last summer, coupled with the other options already back available, meant Klopp more or less had his four centre-back options set in stone for the 2021/22 season and beyond. This leaves Davies in a precarious position, as first-team minutes are nowhere on the horizon.
Perhaps as an indicator of what is to come, he was excluded from Liverpool’s squad that flew out to Asia for their pre-season games. With plenty of time yet to go in the summer transfer window, the 26-year-old is attracting attention from several second-division clubs.
Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers both require the addition of quality to compete for their promotion bids. In Davies, they will be landing a player who is not just proven in the Championship but also is a veteran of sorts. He has over 260 games under his belt and has shown signs of quality more often than not.
At 39, Phil Jagielka is not getting any younger and will need to be replaced. While Stoke do have other centre-backs, namely Aden Flint, Harry Clarke, Ben Wilmot and Harry Souttar, they lack a proper defensive leader who can lead the rearguard for the upcoming future. Davies has experience of doing just that at Preston North End and will be an asset at the bet365 stadium.
The same can be said for Blackburn, who lack a recognizable leader at the back. Adding the Liverpool outcast to their roster will be an improvement on the current roster of Daniel Ayala, Scott Wharton, Tyler Magloire and Hayden Carter. Davies will add some much-needed quality to the ranks and hand the former Premier League champions a solid presence at the back.
The 26-year-old is good at bringing the ball out from the back but lacks the aerial prowess needed to contest challenges off the ground. While he may not have played for Liverpool, the opportunity to train under Klopp will have helped him develop as a player.
Whether it be Stoke or Blackburn, it makes sense for Liverpool and Davies to move on from what can be considered a failed experiment. Davies will get the chance to get his career back on track while the Reds will potentially net themselves a healthy profit by selling him. Yet another win for the Liverpool transfer committee.