Taking a look at what Liverpool need to do next in the transfer market – and the young defender who could be exactly what they need.
, , sés Caicedo, depending on who you choose to believe. The much-needed rejuvenation of Liverpool’s midfield is well underway, and it looks like Jürgen Klopp is getting some of his side’s key manoeuvres sorted out early as the Reds look to put a difficult season firmly in the rear-view mirror
Which is all well and good – young talent slowly replacing old hands is the way this work should be done, and Liverpool’s failure to reach the 2023/34 Champions League can be partially blamed on not getting the process started quickly enough on their current team. Now Naby Keïta and James Milner are gone, while some fresh competition for Fabinho and Jordan Henderson comes through the door. But while the midfield was perhaps the area where the decay was most evident, it can’t be the start and end of the update. The defence needs sorting out too.
Alexis Mac Allister has arrived, and a few more midfielders seem likely to follow – Khéphren Thuram, most likely, perhaps Ryan Gravenberch, Franck Kessié, Manu Koné or Moisés Caicedo, depending on who you choose to believe. The much-needed rejuvenation of Liverpool’s midfield is well underway, and it looks like Jürgen Klopp is getting some of his side’s key manoeuvres sorted out early as the Reds look to put a difficult season firmly in the rear-view mirror.
Which is all well and good – young talent slowly replacing old hands is the way this work should be done, and Liverpool’s failure to reach the 2023/34 Champions League can be partially blamed on not getting the process started quickly enough on their current team. Now Naby Keïta and James Milner are gone, while some fresh competition for Fabinho and Jordan Henderson comes through the door. But while the midfield was perhaps the area where the decay was most evident, it can’t be the start and end of the update. The defence needs sorting out too.
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Liverpool shipped 47 Premier League goals this season – compared to just 26 in their last league campaign. Virgil van Dijk is visibly not quite the player he once was, Joe Gomez hasn’t stepped up as far as had been hoped, Joël Matip is as likely to be brilliant as he is bad, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, for all he offers in attack, has always been something of a liability at the back. Besides – he may be more of a midfielder now
If defensive reinforcements aren’t brought in, then many of the same problems that Liverpool suffered from last season will simply surface again and again. They’ve been linked with a few defenders, but nothing concrete has yet emerged – Kim-Min Jae has been mentioned but seems more likely to go to Manchester United, the gifted Marc Guéhi’s name has cropped up, Torino defender Perr Schuurs has been suggested. It’s the fourth centre-back who’s been tipped to take a trip to Merseyside that we think could be the best bet of the lot, however – Sporting Lisbon’s Gonçalo Inácio.
