Morgan Boyes: Liverpool and Wales youngster aims to follow Neco Williams' lead

Morgan Boyes made his Liverpool against Aston Villa in November 2019, when he was aged just 18

They were born just nine days and 25 miles apart and have come through the ranks together with both Liverpool and Wales.

Now Morgan Boyes is hoping to follow his mate Neco Williams' lead in the colours of club and country.

"I have played with him for years, with Wales and with Liverpool," says 19-year-old Boyes, a central defender who is currently on loan at Fleetwood Town.

"Seeing what he has done is brilliant for him - he is where I want to be eventually.

"It's brilliant to see that someone who has done the exact same things as me throughout the years has gone and got the opportunities. It just shows that it can be done."

Williams, who hails from Cefn Mawr near Wrexham, broke into Liverpool's first-team squad last season and is a senior Wales international at just 19.

Boyes, who was born in St Asaph and moved to Chester as a kid, is not far behind.

He has played for Liverpool, as part of a youthful side in last season's 5-0 EFL Cup defeat at Aston Villa as well as the 1-0 FA Cup win over Shrewsbury Town.

Like Williams, he has 19 Wales Under-19 caps - a joint record they share with Cardiff City's Sam Bowen - and played for the under-21s for the first time last month.

Boyes should feature in Friday's Uefa Under-21 Championship qualifier in Belgium and will then be part of the under-19s squad - where he is skipper - for next Tuesday's friendly against England.

He will then return to Fleetwood, where he is cutting his teeth on a season-long loan in League One under Joey Barton.

"He has years of experience so any little bit of information you can take from him is a bonus," Boyes says.

"I am just trying to make the best out of the loan for me and also for the club."

Morgan Boyes (right) was given a first Wales Under-21 cap by Paul Bodin (left) against Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2020

Boyes' first wore the red of Liverpool at under-8s level. He had a season playing under-18s football for Steven Gerrard, who would regularly join training sessions and show off the skills that made him a Premier League great.

"I don't really need to say anything about that," Boyes says.

"The experience he has as your manager - it's something that not many players will get."

At times Boyes has trained with Liverpool's first team, meaning a chance to mark the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

"The class is completely different," Boyes says.

"You do get that quick shock of (playing with) the best players in the world."

Boyes scored an own goal in that Villa defeat, a cross deflecting off him and into the net as Dean Smith's team took advantage of the fact that Liverpool's senior players were away at the Club World Cup.

Yet the heavy defeat did not take the shine off an "unreal experience" for Boyes, whose shirt from the game is on the wall at home.

"It's one to look at every day," he says. "Hopefully you can replicate that and play as many games as possible."