Jack Hallows believes that while Nabil Fekir would be a great signing, Joël Matip’s injury record means Liverpool should make signing a centre-half their priority.
I find it slightly puzzling that Liverpool would back out of a deal for Nabil Fekir based on potential injury risk when they continue to back the likes of Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge and Joël Matip despite their horrendous injury records.
Since January of this year, that aforementioned trio have started a combined 12 first team football matches in all competitions.
While Lallana and Sturridge are at least likely to be relegated to luxury bench options this season, Joël Matip remains in the running to cement a position as Liverpool’s first-choice centre back alongside Virgil van Dijk.
Especially with Dejan Lovren not due back from his summer holidays until just before the Reds’ first Premier League game of the season.
For me, that’s a huge problem and it’s not exactly helpful that Matip has just had to leave the touring party currently in the United States after sustaining another injury during the friendly match against Dortmund.
Given Lovren’s expected return date and Matip’s tendency to return later than expected from injury problems, the Reds are a knock to van Dijk away from heading into the new season with Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez as their centre back pairing. I don’t care how optimistic a football fan you are, that simply isn’t good enough.
While Liverpool’s business this summer has, in truth, been excellent so far and the additions of Fabinho, Naby Keïta and, perhaps most importantly, Alisson Becker will all aid Klopp’s attempts to solidify his backline, you need more than an ageing Estonian and a raw talent to play back up to your first-choice defenders.
Look at Liverpool’s primary competition for the top four spots in the Premier League from last season.
Whatever you think of Manchester City’s defence, they boast the ability to pick a pairing or trio from any of Otamendi, Stones and Laporte while Kyle Walker can also provide a handy option at centre back in a back three.
Tottenham have the same luxury with Alderweireld, Vertonghen and Davidson Sanchez while their city rivals Chelsea have the likes of David Luiz, César Azpilicueta, Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen to choose from.
In fact, of the teams who were heavily involved in the top four race last season, only Manchester United really provide an outlier.
Aside from Eric Bailly, their cracks in defence are heavily papered over by Mourinho’s ‘negative’ tactics and the fact that they have perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world providing freakish saves week in, week out between the sticks.
While Liverpool, of course, does have one of the league’s best centre halves in van Dijk and despite what many think of him, a more than capable option 95% of the time in Dejan Lovren, the rest are – to be slightly brutal – hardly awe-inspiring.
Matip is, as mentioned, consistently injured and bizarrely, despite an impressive first campaign on Merseyside, looked very poor on many an occasion last season.
Klavan does the job he’s there to do well but his lack of pace has been heavily exposed in games against better sides while, as much as I want to see Joe Gomez moved central and given a chance to shine, I genuinely don’t know if Jürgen Klopp actually rates the youngster’s ability as a centre half. Not in a back four anyway.
The frustrating part is that Liverpool’s defence is now so close to being the finished article.
The left-hand side, in particular, has been fixed superbly, with Andrew Robertson’s mix of energy, attacking brilliance and defensive intelligence a welcome upgrade on the erratic Alberto Moreno and of course, you don’t need me to tell you that Virgil van Dijk is an absolute monster of a footballer.
At right-back, the club has both one of English football’s best young prospects in Trent Alexander-Arnold and a consistent if steady at best option in Nathaniel Clyne.
Let’s not forget that between the sticks they also now have football’s most expensive goalkeeper: a six foot four mountain of a man who has incredible reflexes and can not only make ridiculous saves but can sweep behind a high line and play with the ball on the deck too.
Even when you move away from the back four – which in a Klopp system you have to do given that the defending starts right from the front – Liverpool have a pressing machine up front in Roberto Firmino and if you bypass him, another one in the centre of the park in Naby Keïta.
He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but you’re then left with Jordan Henderson whose energy levels surely can’t be doubted by anyone at this point, Fabinho who was one of Europe’s best holding midfielders last season and the likes of Wijnaldum, Lallana and Milner who have all shown their ability to press intelligently and relentlessly when called upon.
Fix that right centre back position and all of a sudden you have a team that is going to not only score goals but is almost a certainty to concede very few of them.
I actually quite like Dejan Lovren these days – he’s won me over.
His relentless will to improve and the way he fought so hard last season to recover from that Wembley nightmare and help Liverpool to the final of the Champions League and perhaps even more impressively, Croatia to the final of the World Cup, was admirable, to say the least.
In fact, I genuinely don’t remember him making a mistake in our entire knockout run to Kiev last season or, in the actual final itself.
However, imagine how he could perform if he actually had solid competition for that right centre back spot next to Virgil.
Now, I’m not saying go out and break the transfer record for a defender again by bringing in someone like Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli – even though I would love that.
However, there are cut-price options out there.
Diego Godin of Atletico Madrid is rumoured to be available for just £18m and has been one of the best centre backs in European football for the better part of five years.
Sure, he’s 32 years old but with the experience of multiple Champions League finals and beating Real Madrid and Barcelona to a La Liga title, he would be an immense presence to have in the dressing room, even if only for two seasons.
If the club wanted to look at younger options, Burnley are rumoured to be willing to listen to offers for James Tarkowski while Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles would bring natural leadership and further solidity to the Reds’ back line.
Liverpool’s transfer business these last twelve months has been, in no uncertain terms, impeccable.
They’ve spent big, brought in players they’ve actually needed, strengthened areas that were desperate for them to do so and beaten other European heavyweights to widely coveted targets all across the pitch.
Why put the breaks on now when we’re so close to having that ideal, potentially title-winning squad?
Oh, and yeah, I still agree that signing Fekir would be great too.
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