NECO WILLIAMS says he couldn’t be at a better club in the world after signing a long-term contract with Premier League champions Liverpool.

The 19-year-old Wrexham-born defender, who hails from Cefn Mawr, committed his future to the Reds while away in Austria for the first team’s pre-season training camp.

“It feels amazing,” said Williams on Liverpool’s official club website. “At the minute for me, I think there is no better place to learn and to become a better player than being here and working with the lads. I think we’ve got some of the best players in the world and we’re one of the best teams in the world, so I think for me personally, especially learning off Trent and Robbo every day, getting their advice, seeing what they say, it’s only going to make me a better player. I feel it.

“I take it day by day and I am maturing in my game, I am developing as a player and, like I said, I don’t think there is a better place for me to work and keep going at it than here.

“Last season was my breakout season, but I think the more games I play now, the more I train, I feel I am becoming a better player. I feel I am developing a lot.

“My aim at the moment is to try to close the gap between me and Trent and give the boss a decision to think about and give him a bit of a headache, but I know I have got a long way to go. I am only 19, I am learning and my aim is to keep working hard, to stay humble and hopefully this season I will keep getting the games in and the game time. That will only make me a better player.”

Williams, who is on the brink of a call-up to Ryan Giggs’ Wales squad, said he will still remain grounded despite the excitement of making his Liverpool debut and picking up a Premier League winners’ medal.

“Off the pitch, it has changed, but I am still the lad I was two years ago, I am still exactly the same person. I am still humble and I know where I come from. Being with the senior squad now, out of football life does change a bit because you’re a role model to people now, so it is a bit different with fans coming up to you and wanting pictures and stuff like that.

“It is always a good experience for me when I come here and I learn things. Now I just think I’ve just got to keep working hard, keep doing what I have been doing and hopefully then I will have a good career.

“This is only the start for me and I am still young; I’ve still got a long, long way to go.

“There are still a lot of things I need to improve on in my game, but being here, there is no better place to learn from for these things – that’s both football-wise and also out of football.

“There is no better way to make my breakout season in the season we had last season.

“For me, at 19, to have a Premier League winner’s medal is a surreal moment for me, my family and my friends. But that’s just the start and hopefully in the future I will have more silverware; we’ll keep winning trophies and I’ll keep getting medals.

“If the lads stay like we have been in the last few seasons, nothing is going to change and we’re heading in the right direction. But there are a lot of things we need to improve on as a team, but each day, with the manager we’ve got, there is no-one better to learn from than him.

“ If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting the silverware and getting trophies.”

Boss Jurgen Klopp has obviously been impressed with what he’s seen with Williams, describing his as a ‘machine’ in training.

“Well, most sessions I do at Melwood, I am up against Sadio,” Williams responded. “Because in the teams we do, we have the starting team and the other team, and mostly every session when we have games back to back – a game always around the corner – I’m always up against Sadio.

“So every session, it is difficult for me because I am up against one of the best wingers in the world, so I think that has definitely improved me as a player. I don’t think there is any other way of becoming a better player than coming up against the best wingers in the world.

“I am just grateful and thankful to the boss for trusting me and I will prove to him that I am a trustworthy player, I’ll keep working hard and keep pushing."