This time last year Liverpool were deep in a defensive crisis. Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were all ruled out for the rest of the season. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were filling in at centre-back more often than not. Action needed to be taken.
It turns out that Michael Edwards and co had already set their sights on signing Ibrahima Konate in the summer. The 22-year-old is now thriving at the club.
But with Liverpool due to play RB Leipzig in the Champions League in February, there was no chance of the German side letting the Frenchman go.
Liverpool assess their options
So Liverpool looked elsewhere. According to The Times, one of those considered was Benoit Badiashile of Monaco.
The 20-year-old is very highly regarded in France. Since making his debut as a 17-year-old, Badiashile has gone on to play over 100 times for the Principality side.
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The report states that although the youngster was “admired”, he was ruled out on the basis of sharing the same left-sided slot as Virgil Van Dijk. Due to the Dutchman’s dominance there, signing a right-sided centre back was seen as being more necessary.
This is hard to argue with. Maybe he hasn’t quite been the same beast post-injury. But Van Dijk is still the best centre-back on the planet. Liverpool’s starting two should always be him and one other.
Badiashile heading to England?
It looks like Badiashile may get his move to The Premier League though after all. Newcastle have been hotly tipped to be chasing his signature, by Sky Sports.
If the French under-21 international does come to England it will be interesting to see how he gets on. Liverpool clearly rate him highly. If he does well, he is still young enough to be considered a potential successor for our number four in the future.