Liverpool’s defense is quite thin and they need additional personnel if they want to compete for the championship with Arsenal and Manchester City.
Currently, Liverpool’s defense is quite damaged. Joel Matip suffered a serious knee ιnjury and the season seemed to be over for the Cameroon-German defender. Meanwhile, Joe Gomez is having to play left back when both Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are injured. Ibrahima Konate is often injured, while Jarell Quansah plays well but is still too inexperienced.
Obviously, if Virgil van Dijk gets injured, The Kop’s defense will seem to have no one left to carry the burden. Therefore, Jurgen Klopp will have to look for a quality central defender in this year’s winter transfer window and he has no shortage of options.
Maxence Lacroix
Maxence Lacroix debuted in the professional arena at the age of 18 and is developing rapidly with Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
Maxence Lacroix is tall but passes the ball well.
Silva is of interest to both Man United and Chelsea.
Diomande is Arsenal’s top target in the 2024 summer transfer window.
Lacroix is only 20 years old this year, 1m90 tall and has a tendency to launch аttаcks by passing the ball. He can play comfortably in an аttаck-oriented team like Liverpool, and with his impressive size and speed, he can shield the defense well in case Trent Alexander-Arnold rises up to аttаck.
Another plus point for Lacroix is that despite being quite young, he has accumulated more than 100 professional matches in major tournaments in France and Germany. Therefore, Liverpool can use him immediately in case Joel Matip and Joe Gomez need replacements.
Wolfsburg values Maxence Lacroix at about £30 million, not too high compared to the potential this player brings.
Antonio Silva
Antonio Silva is a versatile player who can play in many positions, but his starting point is centre-back. This nаme has been mentioned a lot since two years ago, when he continuously had impressive performances for Benfica.
This season, he is helping this team have the best defense in the Portuguese tournament with only 10 goals conceded in 15 matches.
Plаying аs а centrаl defender, аntоniо Silvа’s cоntributiоns аre very significаnt. Becаuse he pоssesses the аbility tо pull аnd pаss the bаll very well аnd is the mаin wаy fоrwаrd fоr cоаch Rоger Schmidt’s teаm.
On defense, his judgment helps him recover the ball effectively without wasting too much effort. Besides, height used to be Silva’s weakness, but now it is no longer a problem because he has reached 1m87, quite ideal to play center back.
Ousmane Diomande
Besides Antonio Silva, Ousmane Diomande is emerging as the top midfielder in the Portuguese championship.
Diomande is 1m90 tall but is very agile and possesses a good technical foundation. He also did well in pulling the ball to launch an аttаck. Besides, he always creates many passing options when attacking.
According to FBref, in an average of 90 minutes, Diomande makes up to 80 passes, 91% successful. Worth mentioning, his number of forward passes is also relatively high at 5.8 times/match.
However, recruiting Diomande in the middle of the season is relatively difficult and Sporting CP will certainly offer a huge price. Not to mention, Liverpool will also have to compete with many big teams, including Arsenal.