Port Vale FC are delighted to announce the loan signing of Liverpool defender, Rhys Williams.
The loan deal will see the 22-year-old centre back remain at Vale Park until the end of the 2023/24 Sky Bet League One season.
Standing at 6ft 5in, Williams joins Andy Crosby’s side with experience across the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, Sky Bet Championship with Swansea City and Blackpool and, most recently, on loan at Cinch Premiership outfit, Aberdeen.
Williams started his career with Liverpool when he joined their Academy, aged 10, and would go on to make his professional debut for Liverpool in 2020 in the Carabao Cup against Lincoln City where he partnered Virgil Van Dijk in the centre of the Reds' defence.
Speaking of the signing of Rhys Williams, Port Vale FC Manager, Andy Crosby, said:
“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Rhys to Vale Park.
“He comes into the squad and instantly enhances our defensive options with the quality that he possesses and, as a person, I am sure that he will prove to be a popular figure off the pitch too, with his personality, drive and desire to become the very best version of himself.
“This loan signing is yet another example of clubs at the elite level seeing the way that we treat the players both on and off the pitch and the way that we play as a team, and ultimately seeing Port Vale as an ideal home for their future talents’ development.
“I would personally like to thank Liverpool FC for allowing us the opportunity to work with Rhys; the First Team staff and I all look forward to working closely with him for the remainder of the season.”
Port Vale FC’s Director of Football, David Flitcroft, added:
“Rhys comes into the club as a player with great pedigree and experience. Ourselves, Liverpool and Rhys alike believe that Port Vale is the right home for him and where his career at this point for him to come in and to be given a platform to recognise his potential.
“As a player, at 6ft 5in, Rhys is a committed and combative defender who enjoys to get on the ball and start defensive progressions. Rhys has a determined drive to become the very best that he can be, it makes him the perfect fit, both on and off the pitch, for Andy Crosby’s team.
“I would like to thank the team at Liverpool for entrusting us with one of their highly-rated, elite talents and David Lockwood and Dave Ayres for the work that went into making this deal happen.”