Florian Wirtz HINTS at potential Liverpool centre-back move

Liverpool are in need of a new centre-back signing as soon as possible. It'll define our season.

The injury of Giovanni Leoni has meant the Reds have only had three senior players available in the position over the last three months and that's an untenable situation that desperately needs sorting.

Options currently include Marc Guehi - who is set to be available on a free transfer in the summer - and dream signing Alessandro Bastoni. Beyond those two, there's speculation over Jeremy Jacquet.

However, we did get strong links with German star Nico Schlotterbeck earlier in the season, and while reports on the 26-year-old seem to have dried up, the defender is still in close contact with fellow countryman Florian Wirtz - a friendship that Liverpool can use to convince him to join.

Schlotterbeck is keeping a close eye on Wirtz

After the Liverpool No. 10 - playing on the left-wing against Wolves - scored his first goal for the Reds on Saturday, his social media post was littered with praise from teammates and admirers.

Amongst all that was a comment from Schlotterbeck which included a gif from the centre-back.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't signify anything, especially since the pair of them feature for the German national team, but very few of Wirtz's other international teammates followed suit, so there's at least some kind of bond between the two of them, and that's definitely something noteworthy to explore.

The immediate consideration ought to not just be how much Liverpool need to add another defender to their ranks, but also how Liverpool's decision to sign Jeremy Frimpong helped to bring Wirtz to Merseyside in the first place. The two former Leverkusen teammates were an inseparable pairing.

Creating a family-feel to the squad is integral and it would make a lot of sense for Schlotterbeck to be the newest addition to Slot's empire. Not just in a vibes-sense, but in terms of sporting merit also.

Previous reports on the German defender have called him the 'perfect' Virgil Van Dijk replacement and 'Liverpool's biggest transfer yet', and neither those claims were over-exaggerating either.

He averages 3000 minutes per season, playing in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, he's the main leader at Borussia Dortmund as the captain, and he's still only 26 years old, which is the same age that Van Dijk was when Liverpool decided to gamble a record transfer fee on him in 2018.

Players with the assurance, the ability on the ball and the leadership qualities of those two don't come around very often, and we're talking about steadying the ship for the next eight years, if he follows in the Dutchman's footsteps. With his contract up in 2027, there are few better options.

So while Schlotterbeck's comment under Wirtz's post might have been completely innocuous, in the context of Liverpool's pursuit for a new defender, with the German sitting on the shortlist, it's actually really important to know that Liverpool might potentially have a player who can convince him to move.

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