- Seven central defenders on Liverpool’s shortlist for January
- Players from Germany, England and Spain included
- As always, Southampton’s Dutchman Virgil van Dijk tops the list
- SEE MORE: Klopp gives intriguing answer to Van Dijk question…
The Echo has produced a lengthy piece in which they’ve named seven central defenders Liverpool could potentially buy in January.
We’ve analysed their picks and ranked them in the order we’d like them at Liverpool, from bottom to top.
7) Kevin Danso – Augsburg
EOTK’s thoughts: A decent central defender from what we’ve seen, but the elite stopper we need to lead our backline? Maybe not. An option on January 30th when everything else has gone wrong.
6) Willi Orban – Rb Leipzig
EOTK’s thoughts: A good player, who aged 25, is about to enter his prime. There’s no guarantee he’d adapt to the Premier League though, and Rb have already shown with the manner in which they handled the Naby Keita deal that they don’t sell players they still need. We only captured the Guinean because of his release-clause.
5) Benjamin Pavard – Stuttgart
EOTK’s thoughts: Another Frenchman, this time aged 21. Pavard’s superb form in Germany has earned him two caps already, which considering the depth of talent in Didier Deschamps’ national ranks, is very impressive. Ideally though, we’d buy a talent like Pavard alongside a readymade centre-back.
4) Christian Kabasele – Watford
EOTK’s thoughts: Kabasele is enjoying a very good season under Marco Silva. At 26, he’s the perfect age and has sufficient Premier League experience. With every Premier League club rich though, he’d be mighty expensive in January. Would cost a lot more than he’s currently proven to be worth, although that’s the same with van Dijk, in fairness.
3) Dan-axel Zagadou – Borussia Dortmund
EOTK’s thoughts: The young Frenchman is supposed to be the real deal. But there’s as much chance of Dortmund selling us Christian Pulisic: zero. The teenager is destined for genuine greatness, but he’d already cost over £100m. Not going to happen.
2) Jose Gimenez – Atletico Madrid
EOTK’s thoughts: We’d be mad not to at least consider the Uruguayan. He’s available on a Bosman, but we could offer Atletico a smaller sum and secure him in January. Very good with the ball at his feet and has room to improve.
1) Virgil van Dijk – Southampton
EOTK’s thoughts: If he’s available, Liverpool will sign him. Simple as that. If Southampton name a price they’ll sell for, the transfer will get done. He’s Klopp’s first-choice, he’s desperate to join and the Saints are average.