Although the team is doing wonders under the German coach Klopp’s philosophy of “gegenpressing” style of high pressing to regain possession and forcing the opponent to move backwards and commit mistakes but still the defence looks a bit shaky and especially the centre-backs other than Skrtel have just not yet proved their worth this season. In almost every match, there has been some errors by the centre backs which has cost Liverpool goals.
So with Skrtel approaching his 31st birthday on 15th of December, and Kolo Toure’s contract due to expire at the end of the season while the performance of Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho has not yet convinced anyone and with both of them still yet to cement their place in the starting lineup, here’s a look at three centre backs Klopp and Liverpool should consider buying this transfer window:
- Aymeric Laporte
Rated as one of world football’s brightest defensive prospects, Laporte has helped spear-head Bilbao’s bid in knock-out stages of Europa League. Klopp seems to have a plan in place for taking Liverpool back to be among the top 4 and this could draw Laporte towards the club if owners FSG choose to heavily invest in a potential world beater. Laporte has every characteristic you would want in a modern defender as well as having excellent temperament and poise for a defender so young and also the fact that the 21-year-old has played 20 out of his side’s possible 23 matches clearly depicts his qualities and abilities of being one of the best young defenders present today.
- Mateo Musacchio
Argentinian international Musacchio has been one of the most dominant centre-backs in La Liga past two seasons. With a string of impressive performances, especially against the bigger sides, he has previously caught the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs just before he suffered a horrific leg injury which fractured his fibula and dislocated his left ankle during a Primera Division game at Getafe on April 12 this year. The 25-year-old is quick, athletic and an excellent reader of the game. His ability to fill in as a defensive midfielder and right-back would potentially increase Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s selection options. Though the Argentinian defender has started to train with his teammates but is yet to feature in any competitive match and is still is worth a buy for Liverpool just for his past records.
- Marc Bartra
Cracking down a place in the world’s best team is always a huge task and more is it when you are at FC Barcelona. Indeed, the La Masia graduate has found it difficult to get into the playing eleven since 2011 and more so after the arrival of Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen in 2014 transfer market.
The 24-year-old Spanish International has always performed well when called upon by the team, but still it’s the quality of the team he plays for which has kept him out of the starting eleven with Pique and Mascherano as their first choice followed by Mathieu and Vermaelen and then the youngster Bartra.
Though recently, he stated that he would wait because his heart is in Barcelona still he would like to play more. But for his future and development, the day is not that far when he would like to move on and Liverpool should really try to convince him to Anfield because of his composure and defensive abilities that the Reds are so in need.
