Liverpool's offense has become stronger in the transfer market this summer, but its central defense has weakened.
England's The Athletic said on the 27th (Korea time) 'Liverpool spent about £300 million (about 556.5 billion won) this summer, but the problem of reinforcing the centerback has not been solved' and analyzed that Liverpool should now move to reinforce the centerback.
Liverpool currently has only three professional center backs. Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez. Jarrell Quansa, the fourth-ranked centre-back, moved to Bayer Leverkusen this summer. Big clubs as big as Liverpool generally need four professional center backs to run a season. It's for injuries and rotation.
The Athletic also 'Van Dijk is a player who doesn't have to worry about. On his 34th birthday, he won the Premier League last season and looks fully recharged thanks to plenty of rest this summer. But fans' concerns lie elsewhere. It's a lack of players at centre-back. Qansa moved to Leverkusen, and Gomez expressed concern that he returned home during the Asian tour due to achilles tendon pain.
It is also worrisome that the number of center backs is three, but Liverpool's center backs Conate and Gomez are a resource suffering from frequent injuries. Konate played more games than expected last season, but the propensity of glass-bodied players does not disappear easily. The same goes for Gomez. Van Dyke is fine, but he was born in 1991 and is in his mid-30s. Van Dijk cannot lead Liverpool while playing all the games.
In response, The Athletic said 'In fact, Liverpool is interested in recruiting Newcastle striker Alexander Isaac for an amount that could break the record for the highest transfer fee ever in England this summer, but it is more urgent to reinforce the defense. Liverpool have long been looking for a young centre-back with potential to grow. Two years ago, Chelsea's Levi Colwill and LOSC Lille's Lenny Yoro were considered, but all failed. This summer, he noted Bournemouth's Dean Huissen, but he headed to Real Madrid, referring to Liverpool's repeated failures to sign.
The player Liverpool is aiming for is Mark Gehidge, but Crystal Palace is demanding a very high transfer fee, so it is not progressing. Rather, it could be a good direction for Liverpool to turn to recruiting Kim Min-jae.
Kim Min-jae came to the transfer market at a lower price than the ransom as Bayern Munich pushed for the sale. The high annual salary is annoying, but the annual salary is something that can be resolved through negotiations. He is also suitable as Van Dijk's partner and can play as a defensive leader when Van Dijk is out.
In fact, Kim Min-jae has been linked to Liverpool in the transfer market this summer. Journalist Christian Polk, who works for Sport Bild in Germany and is fluent in Bayern's internal news, said in June that Bayern defender Kim Min-jae is likely to leave the team in the summer transfer window, with several clubs, including Liverpool, vying to sign him" he once said.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
