One Of Liverpool's Most Bizarre Signings Set To Leave The Club

Liverpool are set to make a profit on Ben Davies after Celtic and Middlesbrough look to ramp up their interest in the central defender.

Davies is likely never to make an appearance for the Reds after joining in a bizarre transfer from Preston North End in January 2021.

The move came at a time when Jurgen Klopp and his staff were desperate for a defender.

With Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip suffering crucial injuries in the 2020/21 season, the decision bring him was vindicated.

Heading into the last year of his contract the summer prior, Davies attracted attention from Sheffield United who were told it would cost £10 million to persuade Preston to sell.

Davies was also close to signing a pre-contract with Celtic in January 2021 prior to his Liverpool move.

Preston manager Alex Neil acknowledged the club could not stand in his way and a deal was agreed for him to join the Reds immediately on a five-year contract.

Despite this, he never featured for the Reds in a competitive fixture, with Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams, Ozan Kabak and Fabinho being preferred to him.

And since, all three injured Reds centre-backs have stayed relatively healthy, with the addition of Ibrahima Konate another hurdle for Davies to overcome.

He spent this season on loan at Sheffield United, where he lost out in the Playoff Semi-Final to Nottingham Forest.

With Celtic and Middlesbrough interested, the Reds are looking to at least octuple the £500,000 they originally paid for Davies. The perfect ‘Moneyball’ signing.

That would resemble a profit of £3.5 million, given Davies’ lack of game time has seen Liverpool avoid triggering any of the bonus clauses in their agreement with Preston.

It is maintained that neither Celtic or Middlesbrough have made any official bids yet, however, and “a package would have to be incentivised to reach such a potential figure rather than it being guaranteed”, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Davies will go down as one of the strangest signings ever, but one of the most successful in the books of Fenway Sports Group.