{"id":581494,"date":"2021-01-31T13:12:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T18:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=581494"},"modified":"2021-01-31T13:12:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T18:12:21","slug":"liverpool-in-talks-to-sign-preston-north-end-defender-ben-davies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/31\/liverpool-in-talks-to-sign-preston-north-end-defender-ben-davies\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool in Talks to Sign Preston North End Defender Ben Davies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool<\/a> have entered talks with Championship side Preston North End over a deal<\/a> for defender Ben Davies.<\/p>\n

The Athletic’s<\/a> James Pearce reports that Preston value the 25-year-old at around \u00a32 million.<\/p>\n

The Reds are suffering an injury crisis at the back, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and stand-in Fabinho all out injured.<\/p>\n

Liverpool in Talks to Sign Ben Davies From Preston<\/h2>\n

Injury Crisis Worsened<\/h3>\n

Liverpool’s injury problems at the back have been an issue since the injuries to both Vam Dijk and Gomez in quick succession.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Fabinho, who has experience of playing at right-back for Monaco, stepped in superbly alongside Joel Matip, while youngsters Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips were also brought into the spotlight on a rotational basis.<\/p>\n

After injury to Matip, though, captain Jordan Henderson was also dropped back, but with Fabinho now joining them on the sidelines (although Jurgen Klopp says<\/a> it’s not a serious injury), the Reds have had to break from their original plan and dip into the market.<\/p>\n

Davies Was Close to Celtic Move<\/h3>\n

It had been reported earlier this week that Davies, with six months left on his deal at Preston, was in talks over a pre-contract agreement at Celtic.<\/p>\n

Boss Neil Lennon was confident of landing the defender, saying<\/a>: \u201cHopefully we can get it tied up before the deadline. We\u2019d like it to happen but again, I can\u2019t say for sure whether it\u2019s going to happen or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liverpool, though, look to have ruined that deal for the Scottish champions.<\/p>\n

With the defensive issues worsened, the Reds hierarchy had been considering all available options to them – including loans and permanent deals.<\/p>\n

Most of the options suggested were short-term fixes, such as Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi or free agent Nevan Subotic.<\/p>\n

Others such as Gleison Bremer and Eder Militao had been mentioned, while there were also suggestions of landing West Ham United’s<\/a> Issa Diop.<\/p>\n

He, though, according to Pearce, would have likely cost a fee of over \u00a320 million given Liverpool’s and West Ham’s proximity to each other in the Premier League table.<\/p>\n

While Davies’ signing isn’t exactly a marquee addition, it’s a much-needed one for a sensible price at a time where the Reds would have to fork out a huge premium to sign someone who could actually compete with the levels of their usual first-choices.<\/p>\n

It’s also a chance for Davies to prove himself at the highest level, which could earn him either a longer deal on Merseyside or a move to another Premier League club.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a>