The Reds have confirmed the release of eight players, including former first-choice right-back Nathaniel Clyne, upon the expiry of their contracts with the Merseyside club. The players will depart Liverpool FC on 30th June and will become free agents.
Clyne’s departure on the expiry of his current contract had been widely expected by many sources close to the Reds. The former Southampton player had struggled from injury troubles in recent seasons. Moreover, Trent Alexander Arnold has emerged as the first-choice Liverpool FC right back under Jurgen Klopp.
Furthermore, in Arnold’s absence, Joe Gomez and the versatile James Milner have deputized as the right-sided full back for the Reds. Fabinho too has prior experience of playing as a right-back from his AS Monaco days in the past.
Jurgen Klopp also has a lot of faith in the future development of Liverpool FC academy graduate Neco Williams. The 19-year old has impressed in the few opportunities he has got on the pitch for the senior squad, most recently being the 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
The 29-year old Clyne had been shipped off for a short-term loan at AFC Bournemouth during the latter part of the 2018-19 season. However, the English international failed to break into Jurgen Klopp’s squad after returning to Anfield.
Liverpool FC also announced the departure of Clyne in a post on their Twitter account. The Merseyside club thanked the defender for his service towards the club and wished him well for his future playing career.
We can confirm @Nathaniel_Clyne will depart the club at the end of this month upon the expiry of his contract.
Everyone at #LFC would like to thank Nathaniel for his service at the Reds and wish him all the best in his future career 🙌
— Liverpool FC (Premier League Champions 🏆) (@LFC) June 25, 2020
Despite the current season set to extend until the end of July, Klopp has decided against offering a short-term contract extension to Clyne. An extension would have allowed the player to see out the remaining part of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign. Klopp had done so in the case of attacking midfielder Adam Lallana a few weeks back.
Besides Clyne, the other seven players set to be released by Liverpool FC are Dan Atherton, Isaac Christie-Davies, Shamal George, Kai McKenzie-Lyle, Jack Walls, Alex Turner and Abel Rodrigues. All these seven players have come through from the Reds youth academy.
