Liverpool are set to battle Merseyside rivals Everton for Preston’s young defender, Josh Earl, according to reports. The 19-year-old broke into the first-team this season and his progress in the Championship has been tracked by the Merseyside rivals.
The Express claim that the Reds believe Earl could help solve their long-term problems at left-back, despite the club signing Andy Robertson in the summer. The towering left-back, 19, who is 6ft 5in, was rewarded with a new contract for his impressive performances this season but that has not stopped the Premier League clubs to sit up and take notice.
Everton manager Sam Allardyce is on the lookout for Leighton Baines’ long-term replacement and Steve Walsh watched Earl play against Brentford in November. Earl, who has made 12 appearances this season in the Championship, despite interest from the Premier League, has extended his contract earlier this year. The left-back’s new deal ties him with Preston until 2020.
Jurgen Klopp has also found the left-back position to be a problem this season, although Liverpool’s chase for Earl could slow down a bit after the defender damaged knee ligaments in the game against Aston Villa. Preston manager Alex Neil has revealed that Earl and Calum Woods are set for spells on the sidelines after their defeat to Aston Villa.
“Both lads tonight are medial ligaments and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Neil.
“It’s a block tackle with Calum on the edge of the box and Josh plants his foot and goes to twist and twists his knee. They’re being assessed and will get scanned tomorrow. “Just looking at it at the moment I think Calum Woods is in a worse situation than Josh Earl is.
“Both of them looked like they’ve opened up their medial ligament and the severity of that will determine how long they’re out for.”
It remains to be seen how Liverpool react following Earl’s latest injury. Klopp should be aware that the towering defender is injury-prone and has had issues with his knee ligaments this season, and continues to do so.
Our gaffer is expected to wait for Earl to recover properly before making a move for him. No doubt that the 19-year-old is a promising player and has impressed with his displays in the Championship this season, but the Reds would be reluctant to shell crazy money for the injured Earl, who has signed a long-term deal with Preston.
