Liverpool transfer enquiry hints FSG could still land Jurgen Klopp new defender this week

Liverpool: Klopp admits new centre-back would help

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp may still yet get a new central defender before the January transfer window shuts at the weekend if the Reds’ call to Sokratis Papastathopoulos is anything to go off.

The Premier League champions are finally feeling the burn of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez’s long-term injury absences and teenager Rhys Williams struggled in the FA Cup defeat at Manchester United on Sunday.

The 19-year-old was not alone and even Fabinho, who has stood in superbly in central defence, was off it at Old Trafford and gave away the free-kick which Bruno Fernandes scored the winning goal from.

Nat Phillips was the only central defender on the bench with Joel Matip dropped from the squad entirely to ensure that he is fully fit for Thursday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham.

But that Liverpool have a defender in Matip who they cannot trust to play three matches in a week, leaving them to rely on inexperienced deputies, is a problem enough that should force them into the market for a short-term solution at the very least.

The Merseyside outfit having to deploy Fabinho and even captain Jordan Henderson in defence of late has left their side unbalanced with the midfield missing the duo when they are not in there.

Klopp and co had coped until now and Matip and Fabinho in particular are a dependable enough centre-back partnership, though that did not prevent last Thursday’s defeat to Burnley, but things are now unravelling at Anfield.

Liverpool have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions and are in danger of dropping out of the title race and into a battle for the top four.

Failing to qualify for the Champions League would be a disastrous step back for Liverpool after the progress of recent seasons, having followed up their sixth European Cup triumph with a first title in 30 years in 2019-20.

But The Athletic claim Liverpool made contact with Sokratis after he mutually terminated the last six months of his Arsenal contract.

The Greek, who played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, had not made a single competitive first-team appearance for the Gunners this term despite appearing 29 times last season.

The report says a call to Sokratis is standard procedure just in case Liverpool’s stance on utilising the transfer market changes in the final week of the window.

And while the conversation was merely a quick check on the player’s situation, with Sokratis poised to join Greek side Olympiakos, it may yet indicate a loan deal or the signing of a free agent is still feasible.

Klopp said recently about the prospect of a new addition: “I am not a five-year-old kid any more and if I don’t get what I want I start crying.

“Most of the time in my life I didn’t get what I wanted, so pretty much used to that. We talk about a centre-half, and yes, it would help 100 per cent.

“We discuss the situation pretty much on a daily basis, and I make recommendations. But I cannot spend the money. I don’t make these decisions. There are people who are responsible for the whole thing, and I cannot make their decisions.”

Yet Liverpool’s FA Cup loss at United suggested that not just their only remaining hopes of silverware in the league and the Champions League, but their prospects of playing in Europe’s premier competition next season altogether, are at real risk if Matip suffers more injuries.

DON’T MISS…
Details of Liverpool transfer phone call to Sokratis emerge after plea
Liverpool urged to sign three players as Jamie Carragher slams FSG
Liverpool player ratings vs Man Utd: Rhys Williams poor in cup defeat

The Cameroonian has yet to start three successive league games this season and has not done so since September 2019 having had regular niggles since then.

The financial impact of failing to finish in the top four and also the reverberations of such a decline from the previous season would be sorely felt – and so surely signing a new centre-back to lessen that risk is a must.

Links to Sven Botman, Ozan Kabak and Dayot Upamecano have all been dismissed for this month with Liverpool reluctant to spend any significant sum on a new defender who is not guaranteed to start when Van Dijk and Gomez return in the summer.

But having yet to sign a senior centre-back to take up the place of Dejan Lovren in the Liverpool squad after the Croatian’s summer switch to Russia, it is obvious the Merseyside club should be considering the addition of a player with at least greater experience than Williams and Phillips, even if a cheap signing or someone on loan.

Granted the Reds will not be able to find a player of the perfect profile if it comes to having to settle for such a deal, although there are suggestions Eder Militao could be signed on loan from Real Madrid and the Brazilian would be a good fit in the circumstances, but the alarm bells are beginning to ring.

Even a low-cost addition similar to that of Ragnar Klavan from Augsburg, the Estonian a steady if unspectacular stand-in in his two seasons at Liverpool, would bolster their options.

Hopes may be high about Williams’ long-term future but clearly, right now, Liverpool cannot afford to be relying on the youngster in such high-pressure games against top-level forwards.

The club’s supporters will hope that their inquisitive Sokratis phone call leads to a change of approach from the Liverpool hierarchy. There are nervy months ahead if it does not.

Source: Read Full Article