Neco Williams: Nottingham Forest in talks over £16m deal for Liverpool right-back | Transfer Centre News

Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks with Liverpool over the signing of right-back Neco Williams.

The fee under discussion for the 21-year-old is thought to be worth £16m.

Forest are hopeful of completing the signing for the Wales international in the coming days.

Williams spent the second half of last season out on loan with Championship winners Fulham, where he made 14 league appearances, scoring twice and assisting two goals for the west London team.

The full-back has spent his entire Anfield career deputising for the club’s first-choice right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, meaning he has been restricted to just 33 matches in all competitions since making his debut in October 2019.

Williams, though, is expected to start at right-back for Wales at this winter’s World Cup finals in Qatar.

Meanwhile, Forest are also in talks with Bayern Munich over the signing of left-back Omar Richards.

Right time for Williams to leave Liverpool

Analysis by Sky Sports’ Richard Morgan:

With Nottingham Forest closing in on a deal for Neco Williams, it seems as if the youngster’s time at Liverpool is now up after more than a decade at the club.

The right-back joined the Reds’ academy aged just six, but despite making his debut against Arsenal in the League Cup in October 2019, has made just 33 appearances in total since, with his path to the first team blocked by the sizeable figure of England international Trent Alexander-Arnold.

However, despite getting a Premier League winner’s medal in 2019-20, Liverpool’s decision to sign Aberdeen right-back Calvin Ramsay this summer may have final convinced the player to end his time on Merseyside.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old is also now a key cog in Rob Page’s Wales team and will no doubt have game time in mind ahead of this winter’s World Cup finals in Qatar when deciding whether to leave Anfield.

And with Williams having flourished while out on loan at Fulham in the second half of last season, scoring twice and assisting two goals for Marco Silva’s Championship winners, this could prove to be a smart bit of business by the newly promoted Premier League side.

Nottingham Forest’s fixtures: Forest return with trip to Newcastle

Nottingham Forest’s first game back in the Premier League will be a trip to Newcastle on August 6, as the Reds embark on their first top-flight season since the 1998-98 campaign.

Steve Cooper’s side won promotion to England’s top tier after they won the Championship play-off final against Huddersfield at the end of May, ending a near-quarter of a century wait for Premier League football.

Forest’s first top-flight home game back sees David Moyes’ West Ham arrive at the City Ground on the weekend of August 13.

Forest then face a tricky next few games as they travel to Everton, host Tottenham and then go to champions Manchester City before the end of August.

Forest’s East Midlands rivalry with Leicester City will resume on October 1 at the King Power Stadium, with the return fixture at the City Ground on January 14. The club’s Boxing Day fixture sees them go to Old Trafford for a trip to Manchester United.

The Reds will end their season with a trip to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, after having gone to Chelsea and hosted Arsenal in the preceding weeks.

Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports

Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 10 and closes at 11pm on September 1?

Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.