The centre of Liverpool’s defence is not in need of surgery as urgently as their midfield. However, there is one similarity in that there is a gap in the options between youngsters and veterans. Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk will both be 32 when next season gets underway and won’t be around for ever.
With funds needed for reinforcements in midfield, an excellent free transfer, as Matip once was, would not go amiss. The Reds may think likewise as they are being linked with a central defender who is the joint-fourth most valuable free agent this summer according to Transfermarkt, behind the likes of Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi.
The Mirror have reported that Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back Evan Ndicka has turned down a final contract offer, which has alerted Liverpool to the possibility of adding the 23-year-old to their squad. He certainly meets a lot of their requirements.
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Ndicka has experience of forming a central-defensive partnership with Ibrahima Konate, albeit it was only for one match. Liverpool’s number five captained a French under-21 team back in 2019 that contained other now-familiar names including a front three of Moussa Diaby, Odsonne Edouard and Bryan Mbeumo.
The Frankfurt man played on the left of Konate that day, and as a left footed centre-back he’s quite a rarity. None of the options currently available to Jurgen Klopp are, and while it’s not reason alone to sign a player, it would open new passing possibilities from an important position for build-up play.
Unlike many of his potential colleagues at Liverpool, Ndicka has also rarely suffered injuries. Per Transfermarkt, he has missed just eight matches in the last five seasons, and none in the last 18 months. This has enabled the Parisian to complete 89.4 per cent of the available minutes in all competitions last season and 93 per cent in 2022/23. For a team that won the last Europa League and was in the Champions League knockout phase this season, that’s about as close to ever-present as is realistic.
In terms of strengths of play, it can be hard to assess centre-backs with data. For instance, Ndicka is the leading Bundesliga player for making clearances this season. However, this would not be possible if his team were not coming under pressure regularly. The top man for this metric across Europe’s big five leagues is James Tarkowski, and nobody reading this needs reminding of Everton’s struggles, with players from Crystal Palace, Wolves, Southampton and Bournemouth not far behind.
However, defending is about being in the right place at the right time, so making plenty of clearances is evidence of that. Ndicka’s elite rate for possession adjusted interceptions also hints at excellent skills for positioning and anticipation.
At a team like Liverpool it’s important to offer an offensive threat too. With 10 Bundesliga goals, eight of which in set play situations, Ndicka can deliver there. His open play efforts include a fine strike from outside the box earlier this month and a 95th-minute winner against Union Berlin last season.
He also got four assists in 2021/22, the second most for starting centre-backs in Germany behind Dayot Upamecano (with five). Matip got three for Liverpool last season, all for different forwards, which was the most any central defender has recorded in the league for the Reds over the last 13 seasons. Ndicka may have overachieved against his expected assists, but all four came from successful passes in the penalty box, not inconsequential efforts that became memorable thanks to the eventual scorer.
Add in that, at his best, he carries the ball into the final third as often as Matip the master and Ndicka looks an intriguing possibility. He could replace the former Cameroon international, eventually fill van Dijk’s boots on the left and has played with Konate before. It’s hard to know what more Liverpool could want.
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