Chris Kirkland has been sharing his thoughts on Liverpool’s current situation in central defence.
Speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Kirkland issued his take on Liverpool’s current injury crisis at the back, claiming that it would be ‘impossible’ to replace the injured Virgil van Dijk – as well as suggesting that the Reds are going to have to be active in the transfer market come January to solve their defensive woes.
In terms of their defensive players, Liverpool currently have Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold out with injuries. Meanwhile, stand-in Fabinho is also currently on the treatment table and Joel Matip has had an extensive injury record during his time with the Reds.
The former Liverpool goalkeeper suggested that the current situation will mean the Reds will need to act – but replacing ‘the best defender in the world’ will prove an unattainable task.
He said: “It’s the same as with Alisson when another goalkeeper plays, you’re on a hiding to nothing because he’s the best in the world, and it’s the same with Van Dijk – he’s the best defender in the world, so you can’t replace him like-for-like, it’s impossible.
“But I’d imagine they’ve got five or six targets lined up which they’ll be looking at closely over the next few weeks, few games, because obviously the Premier League can still play and abroad as well – they won’t just be targeting England.
“There’s probably a list, like I said, [of] 5 or 10 players that they’ll keep closely monitoring over the next eight weeks, do their due diligence, not just what they’re like as a player, but off the pitch, everything like that, and I’d imagine come January we’ll be signing a centre-back.”
In terms of recent transfers, Liverpool signed Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas in the summer window, spending a total sum of £71.73 million (per Transfermarkt).
Do you think Liverpool will sign a defender in January?
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Taking into account the fact that Gomez and Van Dijk are set to be out of action until 2021, it would make sense that Liverpool would dip into the upcoming January window to try and sign a defender who can fill in for the injured duo.
Whether Jurgen Klopp and the Reds will heed Kirkland’s advice remains to be seen, though it appears clear, to the former ‘keeper at least, that it is firmly in Liverpool’s best interests to try and strengthen their defensive options over the coming months.