Could Ashley Williams make the grade at LFC?

A name that has been consistently linked with Liverpool FC over the last few months has been Swansea’s defensive heartbeat, Ashley Williams. But is he the man to restore the vital signs to Liverpool’s lifeless defence?

There are two key components to assessing whether Williams will make a good signing. The first question that needs to be answered is will he improve the squad? The second question is will he improve the first team?

In my mind there is no doubt that Williams would improve the squad simply because we know that defensive lynchpin Jamie Carragher will be wandering into the football sunset at the end of the season. A replacement is necessary and Williams has had enough Premier League experience to prove that he can play at this level. However, even if Carragher was not retiring, Williams has proven himself to be fleet footed and strong enough in this league and I feel he would make a big improvement to a back line that has seemed bereft of options.

A bonus is that Williams has worked with Brendan Rodgers before and will know exactly how he is expected to play and thus will need little education to get to grips with the tactics the manager is implementing.

However, there are concerns as to whether Williams is good enough to warrant a first place in the Liverpool team. Firstly, Rodgers has not had a lot of success in bringing in players he has worked with before.

While it should be emphasised that both Joe Allen and Fabio Borini have the caveat of injuries to consider when assessing their Liverpool careers, it is also true that they have not proven to be successes. It is therefore worth wondering whether Rodgers has the ability to assess his former players without sentiment and whether they are up to the task.
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That said, Rodgers recently admitted his failings in the summer market were due to a lack of time and resources to assess and scout potential signings and he decided to buy players he already knew in an effort to reinforce areas of the team he felt were weak. This time round, if Williams is a target, he will have been vetted by scouts and the transfer panel will help to decide whether he has the right attributes to be a success at Liverpool.

Another positive is that Williams has been on an upward trajectory having moved from League Two with Stockport into League One with Swansea and then all the way up to the Premier League. Consistent progression can be great for a footballer’s development and with Williams now captain of the Wales national team, he is no stranger to responsibility. Equally, at 28 he would be a very different signing to Allen or Borini, he is more experienced there is less of an element of risk about him making the move to L4.

Williams may not be the big name monster of a centre-half that fans would like to see add teeth to a defensive unit that has been bullied by the more physical strikers in the Premier League but he could well make a savvy addition by Rodgers. He is rarely injured, he has two good seasons of top flight football under his belt and he has the power to almost murder Robin van Persie with the simple kick of a football.

But joking aside, should Williams make the trip to Merseyside it will ultimately be his price that will determine how successful he is. If he is bought at a premium rate then the pressure is on for him to deliver more than Skrtel has managed in a lacklustre season and claim ownership of one of the central defensive positions on merit. If he is bought as a squad player, then I’m confident he will bolster a back line that has seemed all too frail this season.
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