Liverpool want deal for Paris Saint-Germain star

Liverpool look a little light at centre-back.

Jeremy Jacquet has arrived for £60m and Ifeanyi Ndukwe has also been onboarded during the transfer window. They add to the options brought in over the last 12 months or so in the shape of Giovanni Leoni and Mor Talla Ndiaye.

But the outgoing Premier League champions are still lacking a senior partner for Virgil van Dijk.

Ibrahima Konate has left the club on a free transfer - joining Real Madrid - leaving Andoni Iraola facing the prospect of fielding rookies in a key position.

Zabarnyi to Liverpool 'has got legs'

One solution could be to add another defender in the current transfer period. A name now emerging on the radar according to Liverpool insider David Lynch is Illia Zabarnyi of Paris Saint-Germain.

The Ukraine international was signed by Richard Hughes for Bournemouth back in 2023 - going on to star under Iraola.

Both key Liverpool figures have got intimate working knowledge of the stopper - who hasn’t quite managed to establish himself in Paris thus far.

“I think it’s one of those that you could see legs in,” he tells Redmen TV.

“Richard Hughes will know him from his time at Bournemouth and will know everything about the player.

“Of course, the manager will like him as well.

“If PSG are in a situation where they think, ‘OK, this hasn’t quite worked out; we’re willing to do a cut-price deal’, that’s the sort of thing Liverpool tend to be all over. You think about them taking Ryan Gravenberch for a cut-price fee from Bayern.

“It didn’t work for him there, but he came to Liverpool, and it definitely did work. They’ve shown previously that they’re in the market for those kinds of signings, so for me, that one makes a lot more sense and is one that you could potentially see legs in…”

Zabaryni to Liverpool: Don't rule it out

Lynch goes on to reference the dearth of senior centre-back options at Anfield.

“I think Liverpool are a bit short at centre-half,” he admits.

“You’re putting an awful lot in Jacquet and Leoni and, of course, Van Dijk, who’s now a year older, to go in with the options that you’ve currently got.

“Zabarnyi is someone who I can get being on the radar.

“But again it’s still early in the window, and it might take PSG to say there’s not really a role for him there to get that one moving.

“It might take a couple of weeks to get going, that one, but I wouldn’t sit here and rule that one out. I think that’s one to keep an eye on.”

Illia Zabarnyi: Situation summary

Illia Zabarnyi is a 1.88m right‑footed Ukrainian centre‑back who came through Dynamo Kyiv’s academy before establishing himself in senior football and moving to AFC Bournemouth in January 2023.

He’s now at Paris Saint‑Germain, where his blend of size, reading of the game and calmness in big matches has seen him start regularly in Ligue 1 and the Champions League.

On the pitch, Zabarnyi is a classical modern stopper: dominant in aerial duels, strong in one‑v‑one defending and positionally disciplined, but also comfortable playing out from the back with solid passing accuracy.

He defends front‑foot when needed, steps into passing lanes and rarely dives in, profiling as a reliable first‑phase defender rather than a ball‑carrying centre‑back.

Internationally, he has already passed 40 caps for Ukraine, featuring at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 and becoming a long‑term pillar of their back line.

With a long contract at PSG and a clear starting role, his medium‑term destiny looks like cementing himself as a top‑level Champions League centre‑back, with any future move likely only at elite‑club level given his age and profile.