Jurgen Klopp might be happy that the side stopped their losing run at Anfield after a 1-1 draw against Chelsea but Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas feels that the German manager has taken a bit of a gamble in this transfer window.
The pundit was speaking with Sky Sports and was highlighting the fact that the Liverpool manager did not sign a central defender in the January window.
“Plenty of youngsters have been blooded but centre-backs aren’t coming through, Sakho’s gone and they’ve got nobody in to replace him.” Nicholas said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“A club of Liverpool’s stature should have gone out and added someone on loan.
“Jurgen Klopp’s taken a massive risk; I think he could have gone abroad and got some defensive protection in.”
Nicholas does have a point as the Reds have struggled to keep clean sheets this season and a porous defence certainly cost them points in recent weeks. While the focus has been on a misfiring attack, the defence is also a region that Klopp has to work on in the upcoming summer window.
Liverpool did let go of Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace on loan on the last day of the transfer window and that does leave them a little bit short in senior central defenders. The first-choice pairing for Klopp seems to be Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip but the pair hasn’t been rock-solid in recent weeks.
Ragnar Klavan is the cover for the defence and Klopp has even used Lucas Leiva in the heart of the defence, even though the midfielder isn’t suited for this role. In recent weeks, Klopp has tried to bring back Joe Gomez into the first team but a lack of match practice has been a problem for the young Englishman who just recently recovered from a long-term injury.
Klopp was linked with a move for Neven Subotic last season but nothing of this sort happened in the winter window. Most of the players linked with a move to Liverpool were midfielders, attackers or left-backs which might be a worry for fans of the Merseyside club.
Even in the last game against Chelsea, Lovren did make a few mistakes while Matip gave away a soft penalty which could have proved costly had it not been for the heroics of Simon Mignolet. Klopp is known to be careful of the money he spends in the transfer window and he might be plotting a move next season for a big name defender coming into the club.
