Liverpool signal the END for star as unwanted decision made

Liverpool have finally signalled the end for one star. The Reds have had to make an unwanted decision.

Liverpool suffered a blow this week as Giovanni Leoni tore his ACL. The 18-year-old will now miss a significant amount of time, with no real timeline placed on his return.

All we know for sure is that Leoni will be out for several months. Hopefully we see him before the end of the season but with injuries like this, Liverpool will be extra cautious.

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And that may well mean resting Leoni for the entire campaign. We'll just have to see how it goes.

The injury also tears up Liverpool's UEFA Champions League plans as he was supposed to be a squad option this season. Now Leoni has been removed and the Reds will reportedly replace him with Federico Chiesa.

That decision is a great one and we can't wait to see Chiesa in the Champions League this season. However, it's also the ultimate signal that one teammate's time is up.

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Rhys Williams left in the cold

Liverpool have decided to replace Leoni with Chiesa and not another centre-back. The option would have been Rhys Williams, who made the bench against Southampton on Tuesday.

But it was notable that Williams did not come on as a replacement for Leoni. Instead, Arne Slot brought Milos Kerkez into the fray, moving Andy Robertson to centre-back.

There was perhaps an argument that Williams would have been the pick if Liverpool weren't chasing a winner at the time. Maybe. Slot turning to Robertson as a central option, though, really does suggest that Williams is far from a proper option there.

Jurgen Klopp did choose Williams as an option back in the 2020/21 season and to great effect. The centre-back was pivotal for the Reds as they scraped Champions League qualification in a ridiculously injury-hit campaign.

That was five years ago now, however. Williams simply never kicked on and it appears he was only on the bench as a last resort this week.

The fact Liverpool have decided they'd rather have an extra winger than that last resort in their Champions League squad is a sign that they will never choose Williams again. It was a surprise he didn't move on in the summer but this is truly the final signal that there's no future at Anfield.

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