Massive news! Generational centre-back can return to Liverpool

Liverpool have been given some great news about how their exciting centre-back can return earlier than previously thought.

The next few weeks could be absolutely massive for Richard Hughes and Liverpool.

There is really no hiding from it anymore. If Liverpool get to the end of the window without making some serious additions, questions are going to be asked about Hughes' work as sporting director.

It is all well and good having big plans and making ambitious decisions, but that only gets you so far. What really matters is whether Andoni Iraola actually has the squad he needs when the season starts.

Right now, that certainly does not look to be the case.

Victor Munoz remains Liverpool's only senior signing, and while there is plenty to like about the Spaniard, expecting him to solve all of Liverpool's problems would be completely unrealistic.

He has the pace, athleticism and technical ability to become a really good player for Liverpool. There is plenty of excitement around him. But one signing was never going to be enough.

Liverpool's problems are spread across the squad.

They need more quality and depth in several positions, and the injury situation has only made things worse. Instead of Iraola heading into his first season with plenty of options and genuine competition for places, he is already having to worry about simply having enough fit players available.

And nowhere is the problem more obvious right now than at centre-back.

Jeremy Jacquet arrived at Liverpool with a huge reputation and was seen as one of the club's most exciting young additions. But supporters are still waiting to actually see him in action.

The Frenchman has not yet returned to full training and was left out against AS Monaco, which makes his chances of being ready for the Premier League opener against Newcastle United look increasingly slim.

Then there is Joe Gomez.

Gomez's latest injury setback lasted all of eight minutes before his pre-season was cut short. He is now expected to miss the opening weeks of the season, which is another major blow for Iraola.

Giovanni Leoni is also still unavailable as he works his way back from a serious ACL injury. He is not expected to return until September, leaving Iraola with a pretty obvious problem before a competitive ball has even been kicked.

At the moment, Virgil van Dijk is the only centre-back you can confidently pencil into the Newcastle starting XI.

And that immediately raises the big question: who plays alongside him?

Liverpool will be hoping Jacquet can get himself fit in time, but there is no guarantee of that. If he isn't ready, the options become very limited, very quickly.

That is not where Liverpool should be heading into the opening game of a new era.

One player who should be under consideration for the Newcastle game but cannot be is Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Unfortunately, he does not qualify for a work-permit and that means that Liverpool are unable to play him.

However, the LFCTV panel speaking after the Liverpool vs AS Monaco friendly at Anfield did give fans a huge update about Ndukwe and how his return to the club could be sooner than we all envisaged.

There has been a common understanding that Liverpool cannot play Ndukwe this season. However, on the LFCTV panel speaking after the game, the leading presenter revealed that the information they got from the club was that while Ndukwe has to be loaned out, he could be recalled in January and be an option for Liverpool.

This was confirmed by David Lynch as well on his most recent YouTube video.

That is if he is loaned out to a Champions League or a top five league team where he plays a considerable amount of minutes.

In theory six months would then be enough for Ndukwe to qualify for the work-permit and if Liverpool negotiate a recall option they could bring him back mid-season.

That is amazing news, Liverpool fans had thought that there was no possibility of Ndukwe playing for the rest of the season but the reality is clearly much better.

Whether Liverpool can actually agree to such terms with a club, remains to be seen. It's another headache to be solved.