Liverpool will be open to permanent offers for centre-back Rhys Williams this summer, with the 24-year-old suffering relegation to non-league while on loan.
Williams has spent the campaign with Morecambe, playing a key role for the League Two side after failing to appear in spells with Aberdeen and Port Vale last term due to injury.
But the Shrimps’ relegation from the Football League has now been confirmed following a 3-1 defeat to Salford City on Monday.
That means Morecambe will be playing non-league football next season, having spent the previous 18 years as part of the Football League after being promoted for the first time ever in 2007.
Currently out with an injury, Williams will return to Merseyside in the summer ahead of talks over his future – and the club will not rule out a sale.
With one year remaining on his contract much will depend on the level of interest in the transfer window, with the defender having spent the past four seasons out on loan.
There were reports of a potential move to either League One or further afield in Turkey last summer and it could be that his profile attracts offers.
But there is clearly no chance of a first-team breakthrough at Liverpool, who will look to bring in a new centre-back this summer with Bournemouth‘s Dean Huijsen among their targets.
Williams has not played for the senior side since a memorable stint alongside Nat Phillips in the 2020/21 campaign, helping to secure Champions League football despite an injury crisis at the back.
He played 19 times that season, filling in while the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and loanee Ozan Kabak were all sidelined, but failed to make it off the bench in any of his five involvements since.
Liverpool are unlikely to bring in a considerable fee if they were to sell Williams, with a nominal payment to be expected if he does depart.
There still remains the chance he spends the 2025/26 season out on loan again but that would mean he becomes a free agent at the end of the campaign.
The Reds have 11 players currently out on loan – though injuries halted spells for Jayden Danns, Owen Beck, Calum Scanlon, Luke Chambers and Luca Stephenson – and many of those gaining experience elsewhere will be made available in the summer.
Chief among those will be Phillips, who has played 31 times for Derby this season and also has a year left on his contract, with a £4 million bid from Turkish side Trabzonspor rejected last summer as Liverpool valued him at £8 million.
