Club president says Liverpool have asked about signing their 20-year-old defender

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Liverpool have asked about the signing of a young South American defender recently.

The Reds could potentially be on the lookout for a new centre-back this month following serious injury to Joel Matip in December.

And according to the president of Argentinian club Talleres, that defender could well be 20-year-old Kevin Mantilla.

Mantilla – a Colombian U20 international – was previously linked with Liverpool in early 2023. And now, Talleres president Andres Fassi has claimed that the Reds have been ‘following him for months.’

“It’s true, they’ve [Liverpool] been following him for four months now,” Fassi said in quotes relayed by Argentine outlet La Voz. “And they asked us for information from their physical records.”

The club president is also said to have reiterated that Mantilla is not for sale right now.

Liverpool keeping tabs on Mantilla

With almost two weeks gone in the January transfer window, we don’t think Liverpool are going to make an addition.

The centre-back question is one that needs addressing, though. Matip has been linked with a summer move to Al Ettifaq this week and with his contract up soon, the Reds need to know who their options will be in 2024/25.

With Virgil van Dijk’s form restored and Jarell Quansah looking like a genuine first-teamer, the need for a new signing has been lessened somewhat.

As a result of Van Dijk looking like he could play for years longer, maybe Liverpool have reassessed slightly.

Maybe they now only need a player as a medium to long-term replacement rather than a short to medium-term one.

In that respect, perhaps Mantilla could be the right signing. The 20-year-old only joined Talleres from Colombia’s Sante Fe in July but already looks like the kind of player who could thrive in Europe.

Nevertheless, he obviously wouldn’t be ready to slot in immediately. The youngster would be more of a project signing who could end up being a senior starter.

So, it’s interesting to hear that Liverpool have been directly in touch with Talleres We’re not sure how much further it’ll go for now, but Mantilla is certainly a name to get familiar with.