Liverpool enter talks over £75m England international

Liverpool have left themselves with a shortage of centre-backs. Arne Slot only has THREE senior options at his disposal - and alarm bells were ringing when Ibrahima Konate went down with an injury during the international break.

The Frenchman, Virgil van Dijk and to a lesser extent Joe Gomez represent the best that Slot has got at centre-back currently following the season-ending injury suffered by Giovanni Leoni.

A deadline day miss for Marc Guehi looks all the worse in hindsight - and Liverpool have since been linked with a plethora of new central defenders.

Nico Schlotterbeck, Ronald Araujo and Diogo Leite have all been mentioned as potential arrivals - while Gomez could end up leaving on a deal to AC Milan.

Liverpool interested in Jarrad Branthwaite

It’s now been claimed that Liverpool decision-makers entered talks with sworn rivals Everton over a summer deal for 23-year-old England defender Jarrad Branthwaite.

The Toffees’ star has not yet played this season owing to injury but recently secured a new deal on the blue half of Merseyside.

It means David Moyes’ side are quite well protected from a transfer fee perspective and it’s been suggested that Branthwaite would be worth around £75m.

However, it’s been disclosed in a report from Dominic King that talks failed to progress between the city neighbours over a deal.

Liverpool talk to Everton over Branthwaite

“A conversation happened at one stage but it never got any further down the road of potential valuations or fees or anything like that,” he writes.

“Chelsea were also interested in the England international but Everton had no intention of selling. “Liverpool might have looked, but to stress, it didn’t enter the realm where a deal was going to happen.”

Liverpool WILL need centre-backs in transfer windows upcoming. Not only could Gomez leave but Konate is out of contract in 2026 and Van Dijk a year later. We could see a full centre-back rebuild before long and perhaps interest from Branthwaite will be revisited.

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