Rhys Williams has admitted it will be difficult for him to play as many games for Liverpool next season
The 20-year-old is with Jurgen Klopp and the rest of the first-team at the Reds’ pre-season training camp in Austria.
Williams was called upon 19 times last season as Liverpool needed extra reinforcements in the centre-back department thanks to several serious injuries.
Van Dijk, Matip and Gomez all missed substantial portions of last season, leading to Williams being used in plenty of big games for the Reds both domestically and in Europe.
Now that the injured trio are close to returning, along with the addition of Ibrahima Konate, Williams says that he will try his best to learn off his team mates, even if he does not play as much as he did last term.
When asked about his targets for the new season, the Welsh told Liverpoolfc.com: "Maybe sneak a few more games in, but it's going to be hard [because] we’ve got the three back who have been injured last season. But even if I can learn off them, that sets me in good stead for a few seasons down the line.
"I'm training with the best set of defenders in the world in my opinion, and the best defender in the world in Virg. Any time I get with them is a gain.
"It's massive [to have Gomez, Matip and Van Dijk back in training].
"We had major issues last season at centre-back, which obviously led to me coming in and doing the best I could. But seeing them come back – they’re all big characters amongst the boys so having them back is a massive boost for the team.
"I'm the second-youngest there, there’s only Billy [Koumetio] younger than me, so anything that I can pick up off them… they’ve had a lot of experience, played a lot of games, so anything I can take from his [Konate’s] game, from Joe, Joel, Virg, is a boost for me."
Williams spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan with non-league outfit Kidderminster Harriers, and the young defender hasn’t ruled out another temporary spell this season, either.
"Well, for now I'm just going to see what pre-season takes," said Williams.
“I’m going to keep my head down and then if we go back and there’s not an opportunity here for me this season, then I’ll go and get minutes elsewhere and come back next season trying to push for a spot."