Liverpool have sent Ben Davies on a season-long loan to Sheffield United as transfer chief Michael Edwards tries to claw back some of the money spent on the defender.
Eyebrows were raised in February when the Reds signed Davies on a long-term deal from Preston North End on transfer deadline day.
At the time, Liverpool were in the midst of an injury crisis, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip injured and Jurgen Klopp desperate for reinforcements.
Davies joined with Ozan Kabak, who arrived on loan from Schalke, and it was the Turkish international who made the bigger impact, featuring 13 times in the second half of the season.
The 25-year-old is yet to make a competitive appearance for Liverpool, who now have Van Dijk, Gomez and Matip back fit for the 2021/22 campaign.
Kabak has left the club after Liverpool did not take up the option to sign him on a permanent deal, leaving Davies and Nat Phillips as fringe players in Klopp’s squad.
Phillips has been made available for transfer, should a suitor stump up the £12million to £15m which the Reds value him at, while Davies has now found a new club for the season.
According to The Athletic , Liverpool have earned an initial £500,000 up front from Sheffield United, who beat Celtic and Bournemouth to the signing, and will be due an additional £500,000 if Slavisa Jokanovic’s side win promotion from the Championship this season.
In the grand scheme of things, that is not huge money for Liverpool, who have already earned significant transfer fees for Marko Grujic (Porto - £10.5m), Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin - £6.5m) and Harry Wilson ( Fulham - £12m) this summer.
However, it clearly shows sporting director Edwards’ desire to recoup the club’s initial outlay on Davies, who joined the club under very different circumstances.
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Back in February, Liverpool paid Preston an initial fee of £500,000, with the deal potentially rising to £1.6 million with add-ons.
Having not played a minute of competitive football since joining Klopp’s side, Davies is understandably excited about joining the Blades’ promotion push, where he is expected to slot in alongside John Egan in Jokanovic’s back four.
“I’m really happy to be here,” he told the Sheffield United club website. “I got some good, exciting feelings when I was coming in. Once I got here in the building, everyone was really friendly.
“I’ve always liked Sheffield United as a club, playing against them. I like the manager, I like the way that he plays football and we’ve got some great players here. I think we’ve got a great chance of going straight back up.
“I like the way his teams plays football, he’s got a good record in the Championship. I think it’s quite a good fit and hopefully I can fit in quite well to his plans.”
Liverpool will no doubt be hoping Davies can help the Blades bounce straight back to the Premier League.
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