Liverpool were able to exploit a demand from Celtic to Ben Davies to trump the Hoops to his signing.

The People says the then Preston defender was all set to move north of the border on July 1 after agreeing personal terms on a pre-contract, with his Deepdale deal ending in the summer.

But Celtic inserted a clause requiring the 25-year-old to be injury-free and fit to play when reporting for duty.

While Davies wavered Liverpool jumped in to agree a deal worth up to £1.6 million with Holland Under-19s defender Sepp van den Berg going the other way on loan.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon was left frustrated, believing he had landed the impressive central- defender for free.

Liverpool swift intervention not only eased manager Jurgen Klopp's defensive problems, but also made for a whirlwind few hours for Davies.

Preston boss Alex Neil revealed: “The Liverpool move came out of the blue. I think he was shocked. I just said, 'Listen you've just got to make sure you get this across the line'.

“He's earned his move and when he gets his opportunity he has to show everybody what he's about."