Richard Hughes now CLOSELY monitoring £45m England international

Liverpool have got plenty of problems to solve at present and it’s hard to know where to start addressing them.

The Premier League champions have suffered SIX defeats in seven matches - including in midweek against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.

Arne Slot - and sporting director Richard Hughes - have got much to ponder with Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City all on the horizon.

The squad had £450m worth of spending lavished upon it during the summer window - including British record deals for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz.

But that spending has been to little avail thus far - with several issues up top and especially at the back.

Liverpool like Ezri Konsa

One area Liverpool could seek to resolve over the upcoming transfer windows is at centre-back. The game on Wednesday saw a makeshift partnership of Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson - badly exposing the lack of depth Slot has got in that area.

One solution escaped over the summer when the Anfield club missed out on Marc Guehi. There is the possibility of Liverpool recruiting ANOTHER England international however - with Ezri Konsa now very much established on the radar.

Konsa, 28, has been a mainstay for the Villans since joining in 2019 - going on to operate at international and Champions League level.

Liverpool are 'closely monitoring' Ezri Konsa

The strapping defender is under contract at Unai Emery’s side until 2028 - but according to a new report in Caught Offside he is being looked at by several Premier League big-hitters - Liverpool included.

“Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester City are among the clubs monitoring his situation closely,” the report reads.

There may well be a pathway to a deal given the scale of Aston Villa’s PSR obligations. The price for a Premier League-proven, international-class defender looks reasonable to.

Aston Villa want up to £45m for Ezri Konsa

“Villa reportedly value Konsa between £40 million and £45 million, a figure that reflects both his experience and his importance to the team.”

Liverpool’s centre-back area is going to get a significant shakeup over the next couple of years. Captain Virgil van Dijk is out of contract in 2027 and at 34 he’s got more years of his career behind him than ahead of him.

Joe Gomez too is due to depart in less than two years when his terms expire. But we could see bids entertained for the England man before then.

And most pressing is the contract situation around Ibrahima Konate. The Frenchman has got less than a year to run on his current deal and if no agreement is reached then he will be LEAVING next summer for nothing.

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