Jurgen Klopp has opened up on his centre-back plans beyond this season.
Liverpool have been hamstrung by defensive injuries this term, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez having spent most of the season on the treatment table.
Joel Matip was also ruled out for the remainder of 2020/21 after suffering an ankle problem in January.
The Reds signed Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke in the mid-season window, and permanently acquired Ben Davies from Preston.
The club continues to be linked with more signings this summer, with Ibrahima Konate said to be on their radar.
But Klopp was instead keen to speak up the qualities of Kabak, Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips, with the latter duo having been used more regularly than anticipated this season.
Williams and Phillips started Liverpool’s most recent encounter, a 4-2 victory over Manchester United on Thursday.
And ahead of Sunday’s clash with West Brom, Klopp was asked how he plans to keep the two players happy once their more senior colleagues are fit again.
“The boys did incredibly well," he said. “Ozan came in and played a super part for us. Unfortunately he is now injured.
“Nat now for weeks, Rhys in the start mainly in the Champions League because Nat was not on the list. Now they play together, did really well [against Manchester United]. I loved what they did.
"This year created two proper careers, which is nice. Both will have a proper career, which is not written in stone when you are in the academy at any club. They have shown how good they are, and everything will be fine.
"Our new season will start in the summer, and it is not sure yet that the three guys [Van Dijk, Gomez and Matip] will start pre-season with us. The boys will be here, we will need the numbers of centre-halves, work on different things and then step by step hopefully we have the other guys back.
"Team selection is based on performance, on training and on games. The door is always open. I don’t get blind overnight, where I can’t see a good performance anymore.
"It’s just nice how these boys have contributed. The concentration level they showed [against United] was immense, against this front four of United it is not easy.
“They were really well supported by our full-backs who led the line really well, a lot of talks. Rhys is a natural talker on the pitch, which helps, so I liked how we organised the last line."
Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get your first five issues for just £5 for a limited time only - all the features, exclusive interviews, long reads and quizzes - for a cheaper price!
NOW READ
QUIZ! Can you name the 100 most valuable English, Welsh and Scottish players?
