Liverpool have recalled young centre-back Billy Koumetio early from his season-long loan spell at Austria Vienna.
Koumetio moved to the Austrian side in the summer but has been restricted to just five league appearances, the most recent of which came back in September.
The 20-year-old has since played for the Austria Vienna reserve team in the second tier, although he also featured in the Austrian Cup and Europa Conference League.
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"We still think that this is an incredibly exciting player," said Austria Vienna sporting director Manuel Ortlechner this week. "He can have a really exciting career, but Liverpool want to bring him back now, they have the right."
Koumetio has returned to the AXA Training Centre where he will train and play with the under-23 side. His recall is not linked with hamstring injury suffered by Virgil van Dijk earlier this week at Brentford.
The French defender has been at Liverpool since 2018 and was on the bench for the League Cup fourth round tie against Arsenal in October the following year. He impressed Reds boss Jurgen Klopp during the pre-season training camp in the summer of 2020 and made his debut in the Champions League group game at FC Midtjylland in the December.
Koumetio also started the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Leicester City last season, and has been on the bench three times in the Premier League. He signed his first professional deal with Liverpool in August 2020.
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