Stranger than Lambert: ‘Really good’ ace has to go down as Liverpool’s oddest signing – Our View

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Liverpool may be the kings of the transfer market these days, but that wasn’t always the case.

Indeed, in the days before Michael Edwards and Julian Ward, the Reds had a habit of making some truly bizarre signings.

From Rickie Lambert to Paul Konchesky, the Merseyside club weren’t afraid to pull off some very unorthodox deals back in the day, but, in our view, Liverpool’s strangest signing in recent memory was actually brought in by Edwards.

Of course, we’re talking about Ben Davies.

Cast your mind back to January 2021. Liverpool had an utterly ridiculous injury crisis at centre-back as Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez were all sidelined by injury, and they were scrambling for solutions.

Schalke’s Ozan Kabak came in on loan to plug one of the gaps, while the Reds turned to the Championship to add more depth, signing Davies from Preston North End.

Described as a ‘really good’ player by Jurgen Klopp, Davies probably couldn’t believe his luck when Liverpool came calling. This was his chance to show his talents in the biggest league in the world for the most successful team in this country’s history.

But his chance never came.

Indeed, despite being signed in January 2021 and being handed a contract worth a reported £60,000-a-week, Davies is yet to make his Liverpool debut.

The Merseysiders signed Davies amid an injury crisis, but even though three of the Reds’ key defenders were out injured, the likes of Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips were picked ahead of him on a weekly basis.

Davies barely even made the bench before being shipped out to Sheffield United on loan, and now, he’s set to join Rangers on a permanent deal.

18 months, £60,000-a-week, zero appearances. Signing Davies seemed to make very little sense at the time, and in hindsight, it’s even more illogical.

Liverpool have made some very strange transfer decisions over the years, but Davies has to go down as the single-most bizarre signing the Reds have made in the Premier League era.