Dejan Lovren could leave Liverpool in a deal worth up to £18.5 million this week, according to the Liverpool ECHO, with AS Roma and AC Milan very keen on signing the Croatian defender.
The transfer market across Europe is still open for another fortnight or so, hence why the deal can go through, but the Reds would not be able to sign a replacement now the English market has shut until January.
If Lovren was to leave Anfield, that would leave only Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez as senior centre-backs. Fabinho can also play there, but that would be far from ideal, with his abilities required at the base of the midfield three.
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Lovren will want regular game time, which he is not guaranteed on Merseyside, but with the injury records of Matip and Gomez in recent seasons, and the potential for suspensions throughout the campaign, the Croatian could well get a decent number of minutes on the pitch.
Gomez could also be needed at right-back if anything happens to Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Nathaniel Clyne already out for a sustained period of time with an injury issue of his own.
As was the case with not signing attacking reinforcements over the summer, the Reds could sell Lovren and get away with it. Equally, however, it could backfire and cause significant trouble down the line, with lots of important matches to come.
It would seem very much like another unnecessary gamble to let Lovren go now – though that a price-tag has been named publicly suggests a switch might well take place.