After the shortcomings at Anfield last season, few could argue with Liverpool's emphatic response so far this summer.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven years, the Reds have wasted no time and already added midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to their ranks.
The first deal came when former sporting director Julian Ward moved swiftly to recognise and later activate a £35m release clause for Argentina World Cup winner Mac Allister. Just weeks later, Ward's successor Jorg Schmadtke found himself performing the same due diligence in his native Germany to trigger a similar clause in the RB Leipzig and Hungary star Szoboszlai's contract just hours before its expiration at the end of last month.
As a result of such surgical precision in the transfer market thus far, it means when the bulk of Liverpool's international contingent report back to the AXA Training Centre on July 11, they will be joined by the latest duo in the Reds' history to sport the No.8 and No.10 shirts.
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But despite the £95m outlay so far, there are still a number of tasks remaining on the checklist Schmadtke received from his predecessor when the handover process at Kirkby was concluded last month. One of those, of course, is the need for defensive reinforcements.
As it stands, Jurgen Klopp has five senior options for the two central positions in Liverpool's defence. Of those options, which include Nat Phillips despite interest from overseas, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are undoubtedly the first-choice pairing.
In recent weeks, Wolfsburg's Micky Van de Ven and Chelsea's Levi Colwill have been two names linked with a summer switch to Anfield. although it has been reported that the former has verbally agreed on a contract at Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, newly-appointed Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is said to be planning to hold talks with Colwill, who has already been the subject of a club-record bid from Brighton & Hove Albion this summer.
On the face of it, Liverpool’s strategy for signing a long-term left-sided defender should seem straightforward, right? Not quite. A deeper look into the make-up of Klopp’s squad stresses the challenging position the Reds find themselves in this summer as they look to unearth Van Dijk’s long-term successor at Anfield.
Even at the age of 32, it would be unfair to write off the Dutchman after his first sub-par season since joining the club for £75m in January 2018. In fact, Van Dijk is expected to be soon be announced as the Reds’ new vice-captain after the departure of James Milner and will hope to spearhead the club's return to Champions League football in 2023-24.
On the other side, Konate’s athleticism and front-footed approach has seen him permanently leapfrog Joel Matip in the defensive pecking order over the last 12 months. Konate's spirited performances at the tail end of the last campaign earmarked him as a vital component of the new three-man defensive system, with his profile allowing him to cover Trent Alexander-Arnold’s vacated position with ease.
But with the former Cameroon international Matip looking likely to stay put for the final year of his contract, Liverpool’s recruitment of a centre-back for the years to come looks to have placed them in an awkward position this summer.
Ideally, a defender with a similar profile to Konate's in 2021 would be targeted: someone who is happy to bide their time over the short term but who also possesses an extremely high ceiling for the future. It is all for all those reasons that the £36m deal to sign the French international from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig two years ago is today viewed as one of the most astute purchases of Klopp’s Liverpool reign.
Take Colwill for example. After starting 13 Premier League games and securing Europa Conference League qualification while on loan at Brighton last season, it would be difficult to imagine him bettering that number at Anfield this term if Chelsea were to do the unthinkable and entertain the idea of selling the 20-year-old.
Having recently starred at the heart of the England defence that kept six consecutive clean sheets and stormed to glory at the European Under-21 Championships, Colwill's next assignment will surely be to tally as many appearances as possible in the Premier League in the hope of forcing his way into Gareth Southgate's senior side at Euro 2024.
Fast-forward 12 months, though, and the prospect of moving to Anfield would certainly be an easier pitch for up-and-coming talents, like Colwill, ready to take the next step of their careers. Hypothetically, at the age of 33 and with one-year remaining on his contract, it would not at all be a surprise to see the curtain slowly being drawn on Van Dijk's illustrious Liverpool career. At that time, too, the Reds would be looking for a ready-made defender to slot into their ranks alongside Konate rather than recruiting for the awkward back-up role.
For now, though, Klopp, Schmadtke and Co must plot a fresh plan to future-proof their defensive ranks for the weeks, months and years ahead at Anfield.
