The four men Liverpool bade a warm farewell to at Anfield will likely not be the only exits from the club this summer.
Joel Matip and Nat Phillips could follow in their footsteps, according to Neil Jones, which would force the Reds to consider potential replacements from a pool of talents including Virgil van Dijk’s international teammate Jurrien Timber.
“Joel Matip and Nat Phillips could be sold, while there is expected to be interest in Caoimhin Kelleher, Kostas Tsimikas and Fabio Carvalho,” the GOAL reporter claimed.
Jones went on to add: “Defensive reinforcement would also be desirable, particularly if Matip and Phillips were to leave. Jurrien Timber of Ajax has been linked, while Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) and Levi Colwill (Chelsea, on loan at Brighton) are well liked.”
Our Dutch colossus has already waxed lyrical about the 21-year-old, claiming he was ‘never that good’ at his fellow centre-half’s age – a ringing endorsement incoming sporting director Jorg Schmadtke and Co. may be well-advised to bear in mind.
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Liverpool MUST sign at least one new defender this summer
The midfield must be the top priority ahead of the opening of the summer window. Though, the unreliability of Joe Gomez, not to mention the significant amount of time Ibrahima Konate has spent in the treatment room himself, means we can hardly afford to turn a blind eye to the backline.
If Joel Matip and Nat Phillips end up going off in a new direction in a few weeks or months, it would be tantamount to gross negligence to avoid investing in that department.
Imagine what a shame it would be to see the middle of the park back to its scintillating best only for our back four to crumble in a manner reticent of another injury crisis fresh in the memory a couple of seasons ago.
That’s a hard balance to strike when every Liverpool journalist around has been screaming for the club to revitalise a department on its last legs.
If we’re to avoid a situation where we’re reliant on another late push and a streak of wins to edge back into the top four, however, that’s the challenge to overcome this summer.