Liverpool have been linked with a number of defenders in the last year or so. The lack of a quality central defender, well a world-class central defender, has hurt us a lot under Jurgen Klopp and it should be one position that we have to add to in the winter window.
While Virgil van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij are names that are still being linked with a move to Anfield, ESPN now reports that Ahmed Hegazi of West Bromwich Albion is a player we are keeping tabs on.
The 26-year-old Egyptian has been one of the best players for West Brom this season and is currently on loan from his parent club Al Ahly. The Baggies do have the option to sign Hegazi for a fee of €5million according to his loan deal but Liverpool and Leicester are out to sign the player on their own.
Another Egyptian Star At Anfield?
Mohamed Salah has been one of the best buys of the season, and certainly the best in the Premier League but adding another Egyptian player might not be the solution we need at the moment.
Hegazi is a good defender but is he better than Joel Matip or even Joe Gomez? That would be tough to answer, given that his West Brom team aren’t doing all that well and even under Tony Pulis, he didn’t consistently stand out as their best defender.
The 26-year-old needs to be more consistent in the Premier League before he can think about moving to a bigger club and maybe Liverpool is a climb too big for him.
Sure, he might be better than Dejan Lovren and would be a cheap option to have but it would make more sense to give chances to our youth players and help their development.
We have seen what Joe Gomez can do and playing him as a centre-back until we sign someone of quality makes more sense than moving for a stop-gap Hegazi. It still seems like Klopp will be looking to sign Van Dijk or De Vrij and get quality rather than make another risky signing in Hegazi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6QpnjG-H6Q