Centre-back confirms he's ready to join Liverpool

A young centre-back confirmed he's ready to join Liverpool's first-team after a special performance.

Arne Slot has to be scratching his head and be in crisis mode right now. Things just aren't working with his Liverpool team.

One of his biggest concerns will be how open and vulnerable they are at the back. A key contributing factor behind this has to be fatigue.

Slot has barely any depth in the centre-back department. He simply cannot afford to rotate Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

The only alternative option is Joe Gomez, who is struggling with fitness issues. Other than that he is looking at makeshift options.

At times like this Jurgen Klopp often turned towards the club's academy. Liverpool are good at promoting and developing young talent and there are players who could come in and provide an option for Slot.

Including Liverpool U19 captain Wellity Lucky who produced a Man of the Match display against PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday.

Lucky helped his side to a clean-sheet with several key defensive interventions, including important blocks that proved he is very much too good for this level.

The 19-year-old once again confirmed he is ready to earn a promotion and spend more time with the first-team. He's very much the type of profile Slot is looking for at the moment.

Lucky is an excellent defender. He has won 74.2% of his defensive duels and 68.4% of his aerial duels while making 9.43 recoveries per 90 minutes for the U21s and U19s this season.

He's composed on the ball, completing 91% of his passes and he showcased that during a brief cameo against Crystal Palace on his Liverpool debut, completing 22/22 passes.

Over the summer Lucky was the subject of interest from some massive clubs. He holds a Spanish passport which meant he was eligible to move to clubs like Real Madrid, who registered an interest in him to sign him on a free transfer.

Ultimately, Lucky stayed and signed a new deal with Liverpool with the promise of more first-team opportunities. Those have been scarce so far.

He deserves a chance. Especially given the lack of depth at the back and Liverpool's struggles. At times like this Klopp was bold enough to trust his young guns like Jarell Quansah.

Slot should do the same. In Lucky he already has someone who is confirming week in, week out with his performances that he is ready to join the first-team.

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