January solutions Liverpool could explore as Matip injury forces rethink
News coming out of Anfield confirming that Joel Matip’s ACL injury will keep him out of action for the remainder of the season will have hurt this Liverpool squad. The Cameroonian was in truly fine form up until his issue earlier in the month, having nailed down a place as Virgil van Dijk’s first-choice defensive […]
The post January solutions Liverpool could explore as Matip injury forces rethink appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
News coming out of Anfield confirming that Joel Matip’s ACL injury will keep him out of action for the remainder of the season will have hurt this Liverpool squad.
The Cameroonian was in truly fine form up until his issue earlier in the month, having nailed down a place as Virgil van Dijk’s first-choice defensive partner.
With the Reds’ centre-back options looking a little too slim for many a fan’s liking, we’ve looked at what corrective action Jurgen Klopp’s men could take.
Centre-back recall
Elsewhere, the Daily Mail reports that the Reds’ decision-makers are set to ‘take stock’ in January and may recall on-loan defender Rhys Williams to fill a gap.
One might Nathaniel Phillips, currently plying his trade in the Scottish top-flight with Celtic, might also be a suitable candidate.
The latter of the two would perhaps be the more fitting option to recall having played 404 minutes of football for Brendan Rodgers’ men compared to the former’s sole 90-minute showing in the Challenge Cup.
Dive into the transfer market
We’ve recently seen links to Lille’s Leny Yoro (ESPN), which (at the very least conceptually) would make a certain amount of sense.
The centre-back fits the age profile (18) you’d expect our recruitment team to be considering and has been a key part of the French outfit’s backline this term.
Statistically, he’s far from poor, sitting in the 92nd percentile of centre-backs for pass completion and the 71st percentile for interceptions, according to FBref.
Don’t get us wrong, Liverpool would be signing a raw talent – but isn’t that along the lines of what we were looking for in the summer?
Trust in the available options
Jurgen Klopp’s recent use of Joe Gomez as an auxiliary right-back does complicate matters somewhat when it comes to the heart of the backline.
Handing the role over to Conor Bradley (20), a raw but talented young player, to whom the right-back role is comparatively more natural could offer a left-of-field solution to the current problem.
Between Jarell Quansah (20), his fellow Englishman and Ibrahima Konate, we might be able to hold on until the end of the season.
But boy would that represent one hell of a risk. Indeed, it begs the question: is it a risk worth taking with Liverpool now surprise title contenders?
#Ep97 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones
The post January solutions Liverpool could explore as Matip injury forces rethink appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.