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Liverpool Echo

Sport

Luke Cowell

Joe Gomez decision could speed up Liverpool's search for long-term Virgil van Dijk replacement

Liverpool Van Dijk Joe Gomez Virgil van Dijk [ Josko ] Gvardiol Ibrahima Konate Jurgen Klopp Cristiano Ronaldo Joel Matip

In recent years, Liverpool have employed a plethora of interesting defensive partnerships.

Whether it be Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, or the Dutchman and Joel Matip, or last season's introduction of Ibrahima Konate as Van Dijk's main partner, the Reds have had some successful duos at the heart of their defence.

However, with Gomez's future now unclear, Liverpool might have to accelerate plans for the future of the heart of their defence. Indeed, the Reds intend to offer Gomez a new contract to secure his long-term future at Anfield but, after dropping down the pecking order last year, he may well decide to leave in search of regular first team football.

Should that happen, then Liverpool Sporting Director Julian Ward could pick up the phone to some familiar contacts to see whether Joško Gvardiol is available.

While the name may seem unfamiliar, Gvardiol is a Croatian international who is currently playing his best football for RB Leipzig in Germany. The 20-year-old has not failed to impress the spectators of the Bundesliga this season in his remarkably consistent 29 appearances, in which he has found the net on two occasions - something Klopp will be sure to admire.

In terms of what he can offer to the champions of the domestic double, Gvardiol couldn’t tick more boxes. With superb recovery speed and admirable comfortability on the ball, the Croat could provide Van Dijk with the necessary cover for his surging runs, perfect for Liverpool's use of a high line.

Having mentioned his ability to show composure and skill on the ball in deep areas, similar to the Dutchman, Virgil, it’s worth taking a deeper look at just how good he is within a possession-based system - imperative if he is to play for Liverpool. In statistics collected by ‘fbref’ based on 3254 minutes within the last 365 days, the Leipzig man averages the following, per 90 minutes:

• 77.33 Passes Attempted with an 84% Pass Accuracy [ 96th percentile of centre-backs]

• 5.31 Successful Progressive Passes [ 97th percentile of centre-backs]

• 5.45 Successful Progressive Carries [ 94th percentile of centre-backs]

Indeed, Gvardiol even tops Konate for those statistics, with the French coming out behind him in three key areas.

• 66.47 Passes Attempted with a higher pass accuracy than Gvardiol with [88.7%] which still puts him in the 83rd percentile for centre-backs - 13 lower than Joško.

• 3.84 Successful Progressive Passes [ 87th percentile of centre-backs] - negative difference by 10.

• 3.86 Successful Progressive Carries [ 82nd percentile for centre-backs] - Gvardiol topping Konate again in terms of possessive capability.

Additionally, there is undoubtedly a lack of consistency in this right centre-back spot, with Konate only being fielded 11 times in the Premier League last season and Matip having his chunk of fixtures, a trustworthy defender who can add something different to the mixture could help Klopp find a permanent partner for Van Dijk.

And perhaps even a successor.

Gvardiol is left-footed and is capable of playing on that side of the defence. In fact, he and Van Dijk could even be utilised in reverse roles. For years, Virgil has played to a stellar degree on the left-side of the defensive pair despite being right-footed. This is a fine detail which massively increases the chances of successfully preventing inverted runners from getting past and getting shots off, as they can be defended with the stronger foot. It’s no surprise that most of the goals conceded by Jurgen’s men come from the the side which defends on their weaker foot, it almost looks too easy to fix.

As if the 20-year-old couldn’t look more appealing, the estimated market value of around £31.50m (according to TransferMarkt.co.uk only adds to the long list of reasons to why the Reds could invest wisely in Gvardiol before he makes a move elsewhere, with Antonio Conte and Tottenham said to be interested.

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