What David Ornstein has heard from Liverpool about their centre-back search
Liverpool’s links to Everton’s Jarrad Branthwait don’t appear to be credible, according to reliable journalist David Ornstein.
The Merseysiders have completed a deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili and are on the verge of signing Federico Chiesa, though they are also understood to be looking at the position of centre-back in the current window.
“You do your checks around this sort of thing and it clearly doesn’t seem to be one that’s credible. There’s not a situation there,” the Athletic reporter spoke on The Overlap.
“Everton intend to keep hold of him and I don’t think Liverpool are actively going for him.
“But what you do pick up in conversations is that Liverpool are looking at that position, but it would take some departures, and probably both Gomez and Van den Berg. They’ll have their lists and potential targets to come in because they need to future plan in that specific position anyway.”
It’s a situation that’s sure to leave Reds fans scratching their heads in light of the fact that ExpressVPN’s research has the club positioned as the fourth wealthiest club in world football.
Theoretically, particularly after a summer 2023 window that failed to yield Moises Caicedo after the Reds submitted a £110m bid, the funds should be there to go big on a defensive addition.
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Of course, it’s never quite that simple as far as our recruitment is concerned. There has to first be a talent we deem worthy of bolstering the backline who doesn’t upset the apple cart in the process.
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What exactly do Liverpool need at the back?
Much has rightly been made about our need for a left-sided centre-back amid Virgil van Dijk’s expiring contract situation.
There’s still a strong possibility, in our view, that the Dutchman will extend his stay beyond the following summer. That said, it wouldn’t hurt Liverpool to seriously consider a succession plan for one of the greatest centre-halves to have worn the famous red shirt in our long, illustrious history.
Ricardo Calafiori, now playing for Arsenal, looked, for a time, an intriguing option to reinforce the left side of defence, particularly given his notable experience playing as a left-sided fullback. Unfortunately, that was one deal that simply wasn’t meant to be at a time where Arne Slot was still assessing his squad in the aftermath of the international tournaments.
We likewise shouldn’t forget that there’s still a need to reinforce the right centre-back position after Joel Matip’s free transfer exit. Since that point, Liverpool have been weakened by Sepp van den Berg’s exit and have still failed to line up a suitable addition.
Are the options of Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah enough to compete on all fronts this term? We’ll have to wait and see.
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