Liverpool have made FINAL transfer decision over defender

Liverpool have had a difficult time in defence - ever since the off-season.

Having first old Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for £30m, Arne Slot was one player short in the centre-back area. And sporting director Richard Hughes attempted to account for that departure through the signing of Italian teenager Giovanni Leoni.

But the £26m acquisition from Parma won’t be available for the entire season due to a torn ACL on debut.

Factor in the failure to land Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day and you can see why Liverpool have been linked with so many defenders in his January window and ahead of summer 2026.

Joe Gomez linked with AC Milan

Then there’s the problem at right-back. Hughes decided to sell Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid last summer for only £10m. He gave a new contract to Conor Bradley - and also brought in Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen for £29m.

But Bradley’s season-ending knee injury - combined with Frimpong’s unsuitability for the position - means Liverpool are once again short in a key area.

It’s a good thing therefore that the Premier League champions opted to keep Joe Gomez around last summer.

Liverpool will use Joe Gomez at right-back

Gomez, 28, may have a patchy injury record of his own but as a trusted squad member and utility player he has certainly helped out considerably this season.

Last summer AC Milan were reported to have made an approach for the England international but he ultimately stayed at Anfield. And as the January window opened it was again speculated that he could be off to the Serie A giants.

With a contract expiring in 2027 sporting director Richard Hughes might have felt that the club’s interests were best served by getting some money in for the defender.

But recent events - first over Leoni and then over Bradley - have convinced the Reds to keep Gomez for the rest of the season at least.

“In Bradley’s absence, Jeremie Frimpong and Joe Gomez can deputise, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones are able to operate there if required,” a report from trusted Liverpool insider James Pearce in the Athletic reads.

That would indicate that while Liverpool do not intend to cover Bradley’s injury through action in the transfer market they are willing to put an end to any speculation over Gomez’s future by using him at right-back in the second half of the season.

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