Jurgen Klopp’s centre-back admission shines light on growing Liverpool transfer concern
There is a growing concern surrounding Liverpool’s defensive options and time is running out in the market.
Jurgen Klopp revealed at his press conference that Ibrahim Konate is a doubt for the trip to face Newcastle United, which has further shined a light on their lack of defensive recruitment this summer.
Midfield has been the main focus this summer but questions are beginning to be asked about their backline and, more speficially, the centre-back position and the lack of depth.
Outside of Virgil Van Dijk and Konate, the club has the injury prone duo of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez who produced some really poor moments last season when called upon, and if Liverpool don’t strengthen in that position - it could be another long season for the Anfield faithful.
Klopp commented on recruitment issues when speaking to the media ahead of their clash with Newcastle: “In an ideal world we would have six, seven, eight centre-halves and are covered for absolutely everything, now we need to be lucky with injuries, there’s no doubt about it. I have no doubt about the quality of the boys we have.
“We will try to do our absolute best to have a squad in the next week where we can react to pretty much everything. Is that possible? We will see.”
Konate even revealed to Sky Sports back in May that the new system makes him ‘more tired’ after a game as he has more to do, and him missing games could be a sign of things to come this season. After all, he missed 15 of the Reds’ 52 matches last year and had injury troubles at RB Leipzig too.
Some may find it ironic that Klopp went onto say they need to be lucky with injuries to be successful, right after announcing their starting first-team centre-back is a doubt for one of the toughest fixtures in the Premier League.
Frustrations will only continue to grow with just a week to go in the transfer market, as pressure continues to build around the lack of a new signing.
We already know, thanks to The Athletic, that they have been targeting a left-footed centre-back, and their lack of movement on that is most likely down to their inability to find a suitable target.
Players who have already been linked are Sporting’s Goncalo Inacio, the 21-year-old recently signed a new deal which has an increased release clause of £51m.
Then there’s Piero Hincapie, another 21-year-old, talented, left-footed defender who is reportedly keen on a move to Liverpool and has been watched for a long time by the club.
Another option could be Rennes defender Arthur Theate. David Lynch of This is Anfield believes that the Belgium international is ‘a name to keep an eye on in the upcoming days’ and a fee of £30m has been reported, so he would emerge as a cheaper alternative.
If they don’t sign anyone, it’s hard to see them being too successful if any injuries are sustained. Nat Phillips, who is currently attracting interest from Leeds United, is currently the fifth-choice centre-back which further explains their current situation.