Klopp shares why it’s ‘difficult’ for people to clearly see ‘how talented’ Liverpool duo are

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Jurgen Klopp believes it’s ‘difficult’ for people to see ‘how talented’ Neco and Rhys Williams are for Liverpool because they are being compared ‘with the guy who played the position before them’, as he told his press conference.

In Rhys Williams’ case, it’s the calming and world-class figure of Virgil van Dijk, whilst his namesake right-back has his fellow academy product Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of him.

Both players have played significant roles for Liverpool in recent weeks, especially with the injuries at the club and they should expect their game time to continue given the injury problems and heavy fixture load on Merseyside.

Klopp was full of praise for the talents the defensive duo have in their locker but seemingly felt sorry for them because of the inevitable comparisons that come their way.

“If somebody is a Liverpool youth or academy player, in general,” said Klopp. “He has already for sure a lot of talent. For sure, otherwise, you cannot make the cut.

“When you then go through all these difficult moments in your ‘youth’ academy career then you are already used to some difficult situations and some pressure.

“When you come up and you make the final step and you have to play in a competitive game for the first team that’s a different animal. And I think the boys have adapted really well

“The only problem they have from time to time is that people compare them with the guy who played the position before them. And they are, in our case, all world-class players. That makes it difficult for people to see clearly how talented these boys are. But, from my point view, they have done really, really well.”

Whilst the unfortunate comparisons will always be there, the significant thing both players can do is elevate their name in the first-team stakes.

For someone like Rhys Williams, he will be expected to play a lot more games during these coming months because of the injury problems at the back, but by the time the final ball is kicked for the season, he could potentially become a regular.

The door is open for someone to fill that void at the back even though they may find that a new big-money signing may end up walking through the doors in January to bulk up the area.