What will Neco Williams bring to Nottingham Forest?

Building on a strong summer of recruitment so far, Forest have acquired the services of versatile Wales international Neco Williams from Liverpool.

A right-back by trade, the 21-year-old joins Forest for a reported £17m fee and is expected to be the replacement for Djed Spence. Spence is expected to join Spurs soon this summer.

Williams is Forests’ sixth signing of the summer transfer window following the arrivals of Taiwo Awoniyi, Moussa Niakhate and Dean Henderson most recently.

So what will Williams bring to Steve Cooper’s side?

 

High ceiling and great quality

Williams came through the Liverpool academy and made a few appearances for the first team before being shipped off on loan to Fulham and played a key role in Marco Silva’s side winning the EFL Championship.

Regarded by many as a youngster having a very high ceiling, Williams’ age and readiness to step into Premier League football is impressive.

Last season, he scored 2 goals and made 2 assists primarily playing as a right-back behind fellow Wales international Harry Wilson, who was also once on the books of Liverpool.

Williams played 1254 minutes in the Championship on his way to collecting a winners’ medal at the end of the season.

Now at Forest, Steve Cooper has acquired a young talent with a great ceiling who will comfortably replace the outgoing Spence this summer.

 

Strong progressor of the ball

One of Williams’ best assets is his ability to progress the ball further up the pitch when his team is in possession against a defensive side.

Williams is able to find attackers ahead through his progressive passing ability but is also able to progress the ball with his expansive carries and athletic ability to cover ground up and down the right flank.

At the age of just 21, the trust in his ability is underlined by the fact that he has already made 21 appearances for the national team and no doubt he will remain a fixture in the side for years to come.

 

Perfect Spence replacement

In looking for a Spence replacement, Williams is the perfect player to bring in to replace Spence for Forest.

There is a lot of interest in the Englishman and Spurs seem to be the frontrunners for his signature.

In terms of his defensive work, Williams is comfortable when tasked with protecting the right flank as well.

Last season, he averaged 4.02 tackles per 90 and had a tackle success rate of 70% with his tackles in the Championship.

Further, he is secure in possession as well and not as much of a raw product as Spence was. Williams averaged 52 completed passes per90 in the Championship in 21/22 and had a pass success rate of 83%.

Going further forward, Williams’ delivery from crosses will be a huge asset for the likes of Taiwo Awoniyi who will no doubt be the main forward benefitting from his service.

Having already played a key role in Wales’ qualification run at the World Cup, Williams is not one to shy from pressure and will undoubtedly be a huge asset in a difficult return to the Premier League for Forest and manager Steve Cooper.

Ahead of the start of the season, they remain underdogs and many consider them to be favorites for relegation, however, with strong players like Williams in their side now, Forest may just be prepared to upset the odds and stay up in their return to the top-flight.