Liverpool need a new star centre-back and they've got their eyes on one. The Virgil van Dijk replacement?
Liverpool need to find themselves a new centre-back. There’s no way around that as they’re approaching a very difficult period at the back.
Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk will both be at the end of their respective contracts next summer. We’re not sure either will sign new ones given their ages.
Even Van Dijk, who is still a complete regular for Liverpool, is almost certainly allowed to leave the club. He’ll turn 36 and the Reds’ reluctance to sign contracts with older players may make it a non-starter.
Ronald Araujo, another senior centre-back option, is only on loan. He’ll head back to Barcelona as things stand and that leaves Liverpool with just Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni as options.
And Leoni hasn’t played in over a year.
It seems clear, then, that Liverpool will need to find themselves a new centre-back - at least one - who can offer elite-level promise.
Luka Vuskovic is a wanted man
Luka Vuskovic may well be that player. He joined Brighton from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, despite playing as one of the best young defenders in Europe last season.
Few players matched Vuskovic for overall value at centre-back and he was doing it at 18 in a top five league. He took the Bundesliga by storm.
Why Spurs sold him on the relative cheap to Brighton is unclear. But now it’s thought that major clubs could snap him up to give Brighton a quick profit.
Teamtalk came that Liverpool are stepping up their interest to serious levels after Vuskovic’s start to the season. They’re not alone in that, though - Real Madrid and Barcelona would also love him.
But Liverpool will have a clear place for Vuskovic. That may well swing things as the Reds can promise him the ultimate development path: at the heart of their defence.
It looks like there will be an intense chase for Vuskovic next year, one that may break records for a centre-back in all honesty. And Liverpool plan on being at the heart of it.