"We look in all departments apart from goalkeeper at the moment. Yes, if there is a good one (centre-back) out there, I would not deny it. That's all. We look at all areas of the pitch, definitely."
While a midfield revamp might be Liverpool’s transfer priority this summer, Jurgen Klopp has also admitted that the Reds could be in the market for a new centre-back.
On paper, there isn’t a better defensive quartet in the Premier League than Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez. Yet in what proved to be a difficult season of transition for Liverpool, all four were scrutinised more than ever before.
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Having returned to help the Reds nearly land an unprecedented quadruple last season after recovering from a serious ACL injury suffered in 2020, Van Dijk faced suggestions that he is feeling the effects of such a lay-off.
Set to turn 32, the Dutchman wasn’t as invincible as he once was as forwards got the better of him, while he would miss six games with a hamstring injury. As a result, for the first time in his Liverpool career, cautious thoughts are starting to ponder a long-term Anfield future beyond Van Dijk.
In contrast, Konate is the future of the Reds’ defence, with the 23-year-old already first-choice as Van Dijk’s centre-back partner. However, the Frenchman has been troubled by a number of injuries this season, and missed 22 games as a result.
Meanwhile, Matip’s future at Anfield is uncertain with the Cameroonian being linked with a move away this summer. Out of contract in 2024, he will turn 32 this summer and has suffered recurring injuries throughout his Liverpool career. With his form deserting him this season, it would not be a surprise if the Reds looked to cash in while they still can.
As for Gomez, he hasn’t been the same player since suffering a serious knee injury in 2020. While avoiding injury for the majority of this season, when the 26-year-old was turned to, he desperately struggled for form and confidence. While he signed a new long-term contract last summer, it’s clear he needs a drastic upturn in fortunes.
Consequently, Klopp’s admission that he could add a centre-back to his ranks this summer is no surprise. With Liverpool’s options all having issues with injury or form this year, something needs to change if the Reds are to rediscover their previous domineering, defensive best.
Liverpool have been linked with a number of centre-backs as a result. Chelsea’s Levi Colwill is someone who has his admirers at Anfield after an impressive season on loan at Brighton, though the Seagulls have reportedly seen a £30m bid rejected for the 20-year-old.
Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig has been linked in the past, as he has done with every top club, but will surely cost too much. Ajax’s Jurrien Timber and Barcelona’s Jules Kounde have also been mooted, while the Reds have reportedly scouted Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio and Benfica’s Antonio Silva.
Perr Schuurs of Torino and West Ham United‘s Nayef Aguerd are also said to have been monitored, while Liverpool were also credited with interest in Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite earlier in the campaign with the 20-year-old in the midst of a successful season-long loan with PSV Eindhoven.
And most recently the Reds have been linked with Micky van de Ven from incoming sporting director Jorg Schmadtke’s former club, VfL Wolfsburg. Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung would report that Liverpool have turned their attentions to the Dutchman after deeming Gvardiol too expensive.
It remains to be seen if the Reds move for any of the aforementioned centre-backs, but a clear favoured profile of target has emerged. It would seem Liverpool are in the market for a talented young defender with their best years ahead of them, who would not cost the world.
Such a profile ultimately fits with Schmadtke’s track-record for favoured signings in recent years, having brought Van de Ven to Wolfsburg in the first place in 2021.
“He’s a guy that didn’t make the biggest of transfers in Germany, but for the clubs that he worked for, he made something out of the money that they had,” former Liverpool striker Erik Meijer, who previously both played alongside and was signed by Schmadtke, told the ECHO in an exclusive interview detailing what to expect from the incoming sporting director.
“Liverpool can buy good players but if Man City or Manchester United comes around, sometimes it’s difficult to compete with them with the amount of money that they have. Then you have to be smart, you have to be clever, and that’s exactly the job that Jorg knows.
“I hope he can do the same when there is a little bit more money available, to get those players that aren’t the finished article yet. I think that is also the profile of players that Jurgen Klopp wants to work with. Good players with enormous potential, but not ready yet. They are not ‘Real Madrid players’ yet.”
Meanwhile, it is clear what attributes Klopp favours in his centre-backs, wanting quick players who can play a high-line, are tall and dominant in the air, good passers of the ball, and also confident carrying it out from the back.
There is perhaps now a new trait Liverpool will need in their future centre-backs following a tactical tweak in the final two months of the season too. With the Reds’ fielding Trent Alexander-Arnold as an inverted full-back, pushing him forward into the centre of midfield when on the ball, as they put together an 11-game unbeaten run, there is an even greater need for the club’s centre-backs to possess pace to cover more ground at the back.
Yet, they also need to be versatile and comfortable playing in a back-three, seeing as, in the current set-up, the right-sided centre-back also essentially operates as a right-back, with the left-back tucking in as a left-sided centre-back.
While it remains to be seen if Matip departs Anfield this summer, or if Gomez can reignite his Liverpool career, the likes of Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams are expected to depart. Still stung by their centre-back injury crisis of 2020/21, when the Reds were left without all four senior options, you wouldn’t begrudge Klopp seeking out a further back-up to his starters regardless. Once burnt, twice shy.
And thinking out loud, if Liverpool are unable to snap up their desired long-term recruit this summer or are just in need of a new reserve option, if they have to think outside of the box, a stop-gap alternative has perhaps just emerged on the market after Everton decided against signing Conor Coady on a permanent basis from Wolves for just £4.5m after a season-long loan.
The England international started his career at Anfield, only to depart for Huddersfield Town in a £500k deal in 2014. At the time, he was predominantly a midfielder, but he has gone on to forge a successful Premier League career as a centre-back.
While 30 and not known for his place, Coady still boasts attributes that would make him a suitable back-up option for the Reds. Comfortable on the ball, he is a good passer and spent the majority of his Wolves career as the central defender in a back three. As a result, he could fit into Liverpool’s new-look system.
Also competent as a holding midfielder, he could act as a reserve option for Fabinho while he has forged a reputation as one of the best captains in English football. As a result, he could be a suitable replacement for departing vice-captain James Milner on and off the field, providing valuable experience to probable young sides in domestic cup and Europa League action.
Missing just two league matches between 2017 and 2022, his availability record is also impeccable, with Transfermarkt crediting him as only having only ever missed one game throughout his career because of ‘injury’. Even then, that was when the 30-year-old was in enforced quarantine after a family member tested positive for coronavirus.
Meanwhile, having come through the Reds’ academy, Coady is not only home-grown but club-trained as well. With Liverpool short of such players, his presence would certainly aid them in naming a full 25-man squad for Premier League and Europa League action.
Out of contract in 2025, it remains to be seen if Wolves integrate the 30-year-old back into their first team, look to sell him for a cut-price fee, or even sanction another loan exit.
In truth, there is little to no chance of Coady featuring on Liverpool’s list of defensive targets this summer. But, with the backed-into-corner arrivals of Steven Caulker, Ben Davies, and Arthur Melo not working out over the years, it always pays to have a back-up plan.
Of course, in an ideal world, the Reds head straight to the top of their transfer list and sign their perfect long-term replacement for Van Dijk, while still possessing enough funds to revamp their midfield. And then, once the season gets underway, they don’t find the gaps in their squad being emphasised by injury.
But recent Liverpool history has never worked out like that. Forced to spin plates, the Reds have had to shrewdly pick their transfer battles as a result, and midfield is one they have to address first. Of course, the club have already found out the dangers of such methods the hard way, after prioritising revamping their attack in 2022, with their failure to strengthen their engine-room until 2023 costing them dear.
Therefore, an unlikely Anfield return for Coady could make sense if the Reds needed a back-up option and the 30-year-old was willing to accept a reserve role to return to his boyhood club. At the very least, the England international could tick enough boxes to bide Liverpool time.
After all, when the time comes to sign their would-be replacement for Van Dijk, it is a transfer they absolutely have to get right and cannot be rushed. When signing the Dutchman in the first place, as Klopp looked to rebuild his flailing defence, he famously waited for the right man despite the Achilles' heel it left exposed.
In the meantime, there is an opportunity to sign the perfect replacement for Milner off the field and ideal Phillips replacement on it for a cut-price fee. A proven leader, comfortable in the formation, club-trained, and always available, whatever you think of Conor Coady, you can’t dispute he would have something to offer.
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