Move over Marc Guehi: Liverpool are going to sign ANOTHER centre-back

Liverpool have been left in a bind at centre-back for a few reasons this season.

Sporting director Richard Hughes completed a deal over the summer for 18-year-old Italian Giovanni Leoni. But the £26m signing from Parma suffered a torn ACL on debut and isn’t expected to play again this season.

Then there was the missed deal for Marc Guehi. Liverpool tried to sign the Crystal Palace captain on transfer deadline day but were left frustrated as the deal fell apart at the 11th hour.

Accordingly Arne Slot has only got three senior fit centre-back options at his disposal in the shape of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.

Competition to intensify for Guehi

In an ideal world Liverpool would complete a deal for Guehi - either for a fee in January or else on a Bosman next summer.

However - having missed out on the 25-year-old once before - there is set to be increased competition for the England international from Europe’s elite.

But the Premier League champions still require some cover in the position.

And now a report from Dean Jones in TEAMtalk claims that in the absence of any certainty over a deal for Guehi Liverpool are ready to consider a short-term fix.

Liverpool 'open-minded' about new centre-back in January

“Obviously, they have been hoping to sign Marc Guehi after failing to land him in the summer, but there are some doubts about that happening, especially in January, and I have heard they might yet consider finding someone to bridge the gap and help them in the second half of the season,” the report reads.

“They would only do it for the right player, but, from what I understand, they are open-minded about the prospect of finding an experienced figure to come in and give them a new sense of resilience in defence.

“It’s not something that is completely decided at this stage, but I do think that there is a realisation they could do with another player to come in because they are vulnerable in defence.

“I don’t know exactly where they are at in terms of identifying the ideal new defensive option, but there are some early indications that they could move for an attainable player.

“That could be someone with an expiring contract, or someone who is on the fringes somewhere else, who might fancy the challenge of coming in and making an impact.”

Which centre-backs have got expiring contracts?

Adding another defensive option would ease some of Arne Slot’s current concerns over depth in the position - and also permit a change to a three-man system if required.

Some of the current top-class defenders with contracts expiring in 2026 include John Stones of Manchester City, Eric Garcia from Barcelona and a player well known to Richard Hughes - Marco Senesi of Bournemouth.

Other prominent names include Dayot Upamecano as well as Guehi - but both are likely to choose a high-profile free transfer next summer.

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