Fabrizio Romano has named two defenders who Liverpool have scouted ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.
With Joel Matip having departed at the end of the season, and both Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate reportedly attracting interest from elsewhere, a centre-back addition is set to be among the priorities for new sporting director Richard Hughes over the next few months.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the Italian transfer reporter stated: “A player they really like but there are many clubs on him is, for example, Leny Yoro. He is on the list of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, who have also been scouting him – so let’s see what happens there.
“[Willian] Pacho from Eintracht Frankfurt is another player they have been monitoring and scouting, but again, we have to see who is the player they really want to bring in.
“This isn’t decided yet, and so for sure, Liverpool will go in for a new centre-back – but they still have to decide who is the player that they want to bring in.”
Even if both Gomez and Konate are still at Liverpool next season, Arne Slot will likely want another centre-back option brought in to compete with those already at Anfield.
If the Reds are left with a straight choice of bringing in either Pacho (22 years old) or Yoro (18) – both of whom played nearly the same number of matches in divisions of broadly similar quality in 2023/24 – who would be the preferable candidate?
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As per FBref, the Eintracht Frankfurt man had twice as many shot-creating actions (30 v 15), had a superior tackle success rate (58.5% v 54.8%), made a higher combined number of tackles and interceptions (109 v 72) and significantly more clearances (152 v 97).
However, the Lille teenager came out on top for aerial duel success (63.8% to 52.9%) and was more reliable in possession, with his 92.1% passing accuracy trumping the Ecuadorian’s 84.4%.
Pacho’s superior experience probably goes a long way towards him scoring favourably for several key metrics, and he seems the more readymade option of the two, although Yoro has looked a tremendous prospect for someone so young.
Either would make for a most welcome addition at Liverpool this summer, with plenty of trusted peers already in situ to help them acclimatise to the rigours of Premier League football.