Liverpool has beaten Celtic and Burnley to Championship star Ben Davies, who currently plays for Preston.
The Athletic has reported that the two clubs have agreed a £2 million fee for the second-tier central defender, while youngster Sepp van den Berg will go the other way on loan.
Davies has just six months left on his deal, and earlier on Sky Sports reported that Celtic had signed a pre-contract agreement with the 25-year-old. The Daily Record wrote that Burnley wanted the player as well.
Other Liverpool transfer rumours linked the club with centre-backs such as Torino man Gleison Bremer, unwanted West Ham player Issa Diop and Sokratis.
FSG weren’t going to sign anyone until the latest round of injuries made it clear Liverpool couldn’t continue through the season without a fresh face.
Joel Matip limped out of the game against Tottenham Hotspur, while Fabinho will also be out for a couple of weeks. That meant Nat Phillips, who was supposed to join Swansea City in the summer, and Jordan Henderson were played as centre-backs in the 3-1 win over West Ham.
With only Rhys Williams and Phillips as recognized central defenders in the squad, the arrival of Davies will provide some welcome experience and squad depth.
How will Liverpool use Ben Davies?
Whether he has a long-term future at the club will be seen over the next few years, and it’ll be an interesting watch.
Davies has played 145 games for Preston, 129 in the Championship and a handful of others across loan spells with York City, Newport Town, Tranmere Rovers, Fleetwood Town and Southport FC.
"Talking about his skillset, Deepdale Digest wrote: “He isn’t the most physically imposing center back of all time.“Davies makes up for that in many ways though. The first thing to look at is the way Davies progresses the ball out from the back.“He’s a very elegant centre back with the composure to bring the ball out from the back and make direct, incisive passes – something we see from Liverpool defenders regularly.”"
The interest from Celtic and Burnley shows that Davies is a Premier League level player, but the demands will be different at Liverpool. He’ll need to learn how to play out from the back, occupy the line high and play football with Jurgen Klopp’s intensity.