Liverpool are reportedly in ‘internal discussions’ over the possibility of signing a defender in the January transfer window.
Ben Jacobs now reports that the Merseysiders are considering their options after highly-rated centre-back Giovanni Leoni suffered an ACL injury.
The Italian international is now set to be sidelined for about a year, with Arne Slot now only able to call upon Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Liverpool considering Giovanni Leoni replacement in January
In an ideal world, Liverpool would bring their plans to sign Marc Guehi in the summer transfer window up a few months to battle the current crisis.
However, that looks an unlikely avenue at this stage, with the England international understood to be happy to wait and assess his options after the World Cup.
In the meantime, Jacobs reports on X (formerly Twitter) that signing a new centre-back is ‘no guarantee’ for the Premier League champions in the next window.
Giovanni Leoni has undergone successful ACL surgery.
No panic within Liverpool, despite losing what the club considers to be one of four elite centre-backs at the club.
Adding another defender under discussion for January, but no guarantee.🔴https://t.co/NN0RZ4DnmK
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) October 3, 2025
Liverpool’s data department loves Ousmane Diomande
In terms of who sporting director Richard Hughes and Co. could look to target, there are a handful of names that have apparently caught the eye.
Sven Botman, Willian Pacho, Zeno Debast, and Ousmane Diomande were specifically mentioned in the same talkSPORT report. Indeed, the quartet scored strongly in Liverpool’s data-driven approach over the summer’.
The latter Sporting CP star will, of course, be familiar to Empire of the Kop readers as a transfer option we’ve extensively covered in prior reporting.
Of course, now, Diomande has considerably more experience under his belt, which should improve the 6ft 3 star’s chances of selection, were Liverpool to seriously pursue his services in January.
Sven Botman is also an intriguing option
We have serious concerns about Debast’s apparently non-existent aerial presence, with the 21-year-old Belgian winning only 51.8% of his aerial duels on average, according to FBref.
Ousmane Diomande and Sven Botman’s comparative win percentages of 65.5% and 68.8% respectively, sit more comfortably with us.
| Players | Aerial duel success rate (average) |
| Virgil van Dijk | 75.6% |
| Ibrahima Konate | 72.1% |
| Ousmane Diomande | 65.5% |
| Sven Botman | 68.8% |
* Aerial duel success rate stats courtesy of FBref
That said, we can’t envisage a world in which Newcastle would roll out the red carpet for Liverpool to snap up their most promising centre-half after the Alexander Isak saga this summer.
Likewise, PSG will rightly be protective of Pacho, with the player himself unlikely to be in any rush to leave the Champions League holders.
@farrellkeeling96 🚨 Liverpool head coach shares a pre Chelsea injury update for Alisson Becker, Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa #fyp #alisson #ekitike #chiesa #lfc ♬ original sound – Farrell Keeling
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