Arne Slot decision confirms Liverpool have a new centre-back

There's a new first-team centre-back at Liverpool and this was confirmed by Arne Slot.

The Dutchman doesn't have it easy right now. His options at the back have dwindled even more dramatically over the course of the last couple of weeks.

Liverpool's depth at centre-back wasn't the greatest. But now he's without Giovanni Leoni for the rest of the season, Wataru Endo is ruled out for a few weeks and Joe Gomez is also expected to be out for a while.

It means, he just has two available centre-backs in his current team. Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

That's a worrying circumstance but it's also an opportunity for Liverpool's young players.

One of those is Wellity Lucky, who now seems to be a permanent member of Liverpool's first-team squad.

This was confirmed by Arne Slot with his decision to select Lucky as part of the travelling squad for the game against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

The 19-year-old youngster was then also part of Liverpool's squad for the game against Brighton.

Lucky's inclusion has gone under the radar but it's a significant step in his development and in his status at the club.

Slot's decision to include him on the bench for the first-team in back-to-back games for the first time means he's essentially become a senior player.

For Lucky, this has been a long-time coming. He's always been a really underrated centre-back and at the same time very highly rated by the club's academy coaching staff.

Academy coaches have raved about his ability on the ball and his reading of the game for years. He made his debut as a 15-year-old for the U18s.

But a bit like Jarell Quansah, who was often ignored for Billy Koumetio, the same has happened with Amara Nallo being picked over Lucky a lot of the times in recent years.

That has now flipped. Slot clearly favours the Spanish youth international over Nallo, and that gives Lucky a huge opportunity.

With Gomez ruled out for the next couple of weeks, it feels inevitable given Liverpool's lack of depth that the young man will get more opportunities.

Even just to be part of the training sessions and prove himself in front of Slot's watchful eyes is a massive chance.

We've seen how much Quansah benefitted from injuries giving him a platform to make a name for himself. Lucky has the chance to do the same.

He's been brilliant at academy level this season. Now deservedly he's joined the first-team and like Quansah he could become a bit of a new signing.

At the very least, he could be extremely useful until January, when the Reds can acquire fresh legs.

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