Richard Hughes completes £86m double deal for two of the best in Europe

Liverpool are in the process of shaking up the centre of their defence.

Ibrahima Konate will be leaving on a free once his contract officially expires on June 30. It is a bitter blow for the Reds’ sporting director Richard Hughes - who had been in talks with the Frenchman for around two years over a new deal.

And next year there will be even more departures. Virgil van Dijk is out of contract in 2027 and isn’t expected to hang around beyond that point. Joe Gomez is also out of contract in 2027 - and he could leave before then if the right bid materialises.

The outgoing Premier League champions could therefore be left short of experienced performers in the heart of defence over the next 12 months.

Leoni and Jacquet called two of the best in Europe

But happily for the Reds plans are in place to restock the centre-back area - with two of the very best young defenders in Europe coming into the reckoning.

Last summer Giovanni Leoni arrived on a £26m deal from Parma. The 19-year-old showed promise on his debut but sadly his season was cut short with an ACL injury.

The Italian will be raring to go for preseason and will no doubt be determined to show incoming head coach Andoni Iraola what he can do.

Also recovering from injury is 20-year-old Frenchman Jeremy Jacquet. Liverpool beat off competition from Chelsea for the former Rennes’ defender - who cost a fee of around £60m in the winter transfer window.

Jacquet remained at Rennes until the end of the season but hasn’t played since a shoulder injury disrupted his campaign in February.

Liverpool's £86m centre-back pair

A report in the Liverpool Echo now claims that Liverpool club bosses are of the opinion that two of the best young centre-backs in Europe have been sourced in Leoni and Jacquet.

“The Reds believe they have signed two of the best young defenders in France and Italy,” the report reads.

“And at a combined cost of nearly £90m, that confidence is reflected in the price tags.”

With Konate leaving it will be expected that either Jacquet or Leoni will be featuring beside Van Dijk at the start of the season.

They are likely to be thrown in at the deep end - especially if Richard Hughes cannot get a deal over the line for a senior centre-back option.

But the best way forward will be to test these outstanding young talents and ensure they can prove the recruitment team were right to shell out such exorbitant figures on relatively untested talents.

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