Liverpool Transfer News: Latest on Tiago Ilori and Ryan Kent

Tiago Ilori is "relieved" to have left Anfield and joined Aston Villa. His new manager, Tim Sherwood, has dubbed signing the young defender a "no-brainer."

Ilori didn't make a competitive appearance in two years with the Reds. Now he's eyeing regular Premier League football since moving to the Midlands.

Ilori identified that as his priority, per an interview with AVTV (h/t Kristian Walsh of the Liverpool Echo):

"

It was all last-minute so I’m relieved that I had such a good option and I’m very happy to be here. I can’t say I know everything about Aston Villa’s history but I know that they’re a very stable team.

It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the Premier League and that’s why I signed for Liverpool in the first place. I’m very happy that Aston Villa are hopefully going to give me that chance.

"

Ilori also cited Sherwood's "reputation for grooming young players" as a decisive factor in his move and a reason for his enthusiasm. The enthusiasm appears to be shared by the Villans gaffer.

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Ahead of the Birmingham club's Premier League clash with Leicester City, Sherwood expressed his surprise Liverpool had let Ilori go. He also called the decision to strike a loan deal a "no-brainer for us," per Laurie Whitwell of the Daily Mail.

Interestingly, Sherwood refused to limit 22-year-old Ilori to a role in defence. Instead, he compared the player to a young talent from Liverpool's midfield ranks: "He’s very versatile, has good pace, elegance, and is 6ft 3in. He is in a mould of an Emre Can in my opinion and can play the holding midfield role."

That's high praise for a player yet to make his debut in England's top flight. But if Ilori does pan out the way Sherwood expects, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will be accused of missing a trick.

Walsh detailed how it originally cost the Reds £7 million to pry Ilori away from Sporting Lisbon back in 2013. But he's since spent his time loaned out to La Liga side Granada and Ligue 1 outfit Bordeaux.

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Given the host of problems Liverpool experienced at the back last season, it is a surprise Rodgers wasn't more keen to keep an athletic young defender in the fold. Yet the bigger surprise may come from Sherwood's assertion Ilori has a future further forward in a holding role.

FourFourTwo.com's Paul Wilkes believes that's a problem position for the current Reds squad: "With Liverpool's defence seemingly never too far away from a calamitous mistake, a semblance of assuredness ahead of them would not go amiss."

Now Rodgers doesn't have the chance to see if the solution was within his own squad all along.

Of course, if Ilori flops at Villa Park, nobody will blast Rodgers' decision to let him go. But if he doesn't, a manager who is supposed to be defined by his ability to identify and develop youngsters will come in for some fierce criticism.

Youth Team Ace Joins Coventry City on Loan

Another Liverpool youth ace who will look to turn a loan spell into extended playing time is Ryan Kent. The 18-year-old winger has signed for Coventry City on a youth loan until January, according to the Liverpool Echo's Andy Kelly.

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Kent has made it clear why he favoured Coventry over other interested parties, per Alan Poole of the Coventry Telegraph: "There was a lot of positive feedback about Coventry—a lot of people were edging me towards this club because they know they’re under such a good manager and play good football."

Kent indicated he wants to return to Liverpool with the experience to feature for the Reds. But he also left the door ajar for a move away from Merseyside: “Hopefully I can take that back to Liverpool or maybe somewhere else—we’ll see.”

Liverpool may not want any such move to happen. Kelly noted how versatile attacker Kent is "regularly named by other players as the most skilful player at the academy."

The Reds still boast an excellent youth setup. In fairness to Rodgers, he hasn't been shy about exploiting it since he took over in 2012. He's given chances to Raheem Sterling, Jon Flanagan and Jordon Ibe.

Hopefully, Kent's move is the ideal chance for him to showcase his talents in a competitive environment, before returning to Anfield ready to follow in Ibe's footsteps.

Rodgers won't want another Ilori-style situation to develop. Balancing out the laudable intent to give young players their chance, alongside the pressure to be ambitious in the transfer market, is a tough needle to thread for Liverpool.

The fortunes of both Ilori and Kent will offer a glimpse of which philosophy can best serve the Reds moving forward.