Liverpool may have the perfect opportunity to pounce on any hesitation from Arsenal in the transfer race for one Premier League centre-back this summer.
The Reds’ defensive shortage has been extensively documented, with almost all of the pre-season tour to the USA played out without a senior centre-back to call upon, as Joe Gomez joined Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni on the injury list, and Virgil van Dijk was on a post-World Cup break.
The captain has since made his return to the AXA Training Centre, and the former two aren’t expected to be sidelined for much longer, but it nonethless highlighted just how delicate that part of the squad has been and could potentially continue to be unless it’s rectified in the market.
Liverpool could rival Arsenal for Ezri Konsa
According to a report for The Guardian, Liverpool may yet turn their attention to an England international in a late-summer attempt to alleviate the issues with their defensive depth.
The Reds could compete with Arsenal for the signature of Ezri Konsa, with the Gunners also having centre-back problems of their own with William Saliba sidelined for ‘an extended period’.
Unai Emery’s side reportedly want £60m for the 28-year-old, a figure that the north Londoners are unwilling to pay now that the defender is into the final two years of his contract in the Midlands.
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Could Liverpool pounce on Arsenal’s apparent hesitation?
If Arsenal aren’t prepared to meet Villa’s asking price for Konsa, could that open the door for Liverpool to pounce?
He may be a bit older than the age profile of a typical FSG signing, but his homegrown status and vast Premier League experience (231 appearances) are immediate green flags, as is the description from his former manager Dean Smith as ‘like a Rolls-Royce’ (BBC 5 Live Sport).
His underlying performance metris from last season mark him out as a centre-back who’s tidy in possession and can also hold his own in duels, as reflected by the figures below from Fotmob.
| 2025/26 Premier League | Per 90 minutes | Percentile among positional peers |
| Successful passes | 63.15 | 79th (top 21%) |
| Pass completion | 97% | 98th |
| % of accurate long balls | 66.7% | 90th |
| Successful dribbles | 0.42 | 83rd |
| Dribble completion | 75% | 72nd |
| % of duels won | 63% | 72nd |
Liverpool might wish to follow Arsenal’s lead and hold fire to see if they can get him for cheaper in 2027 when his contract draws closer to expiring, but such tactics in the pursuit of Marc Guehi last summer backfired spectacularly, with the then-Crystal Palace captain ultimately joining Manchester City.
The Reds appear to have a golden opportunity to pounce on the Gunners’ apparent misgivings over Konsa and swoop in for the England international, who’d go a long way towards easing one of the biggest problem positions in Iraola’s squad.
Don’t make me laugh transfer will be over before we make a stupid offer
I’d go for him, given the desperate need we have in defence. Particularly as he can cover the right full position as well. Unless we have something better in the pipeline , it’s a no-brainier.
I say this right now if we don’t strengthen the defence at right back and centre back you can write off the new season now.
No matter who we buy on the wing.
It’s not rocket science after last season losing 20 games and conceding 77 goals. We spent 325 million on attacking talent, it didn’t help because we can’t defend.