Liverpool fans were left bemused following reports that Jurgen Klopp will address his centre-back conundrum in the summer as opposed to January, as per The Times.
This comes from Paul Joyce. He believes Liverpool will look to add a fourth senior option at centre-back in the summer.
When Jurgen Klopp extended his Anfield stay to 2024, it became clear that the Liverpool boss had intentions to be the leading figure behind a club rebuild.
So, the work has already begun it would seem following the summer acquisitions of Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota. The pair were signed last September with a long-term view in regards to the sqaud’s evolvement.
Had it not been for injury, perhaps we would have been given a greater insight into what Klopp’s future team could look like.
Jota, 24, was previously threatening to alter the attacking dynamic of the club’s pedigreed front-three, after all. Despite missing the team’s previous eight matches, the Portuguese forward is still the club’s second-highest scorer this season with nine goals.
The additions of Thiago and Jota were sanctioned with a long-term view to enable Klopp to build another potential title-winning team.
And, according to Joyce, another centre-back addition in the summer is the manager’s next priority in the transfer window.
Liverpool to address the defence in the summer
Even before injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, Liverpool had aspirations to acquire another viable option at the heart of defence following the departure of Dejan Lovren last summer.
Age is another determining factor why Klopp could look to explore the market again come to the end of the season. After all, Van Dijk will be 30, Robertson 27, Matip 30, Alexander-Arnold 23 and Gomez 24.
With that said, Liverpool could look to add a long-term replacement to eventually succeed Van Dijk as the club’s defensive lynchpin and chief organiser.
Players such as Dayot Upamecano and Ben White have been extensively linked with a move to Anfield in recent months, but whether or not Liverpool’s interest is concrete remains to be seen.
Still, it appears Klopp will indeed address his defensive issues come the end of the season.
For many supporters, however, this could be seen as too little, too late with the Reds currently without three of their senior centre-backs at present.
Reaction
Here are a number of reactions from supporters amid reports that Liverpool will sign another centre-back in the summer…
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
