After a season hit by central defensive injuries, it was perhaps inevitable that Liverpool would be linked with reinforcements for that area of their squad.
The fact that the Reds are 16 points behind Manchester City at the time of writing won’t be lost on Jurgen Klopp, and rest assured, it will hurt.
According to The Athletic, one of the names that was potentially on Liverpool’s radar for next season was Aston Villa’s 23-year-old Ezri Konsa.
The outlet also suggest that Tottenham Hotspur were keeping a close eye on proceedings.
However, both clubs are set to be disappointed with the Villains probably looking to extend the contract of a player who has helped them to the second best defensive record in the current Premier League season, behind Man City.
“He’s [Konsa] been at the heart of everything Villa have done this season,” Kevin Phillips said to Football Insider.
“He’s been excellent with Mings, they haven’t been breached too much this year.
“I haven’t seen too many players give him the run-around. To believe he was only at Charlton a few years ago…
“To come to the Premier League and to do what he’s done after they had a difficult season last year is brilliant.
“Naturally, when you get big clubs sniffing around, you’re probably going to get offered a new deal. It happened to me at Sunderland, the club came and said: ‘We want to offer you a new deal.’
“I’m pretty sure that’s gonna happen before the end of the season if he keeps performing the way he is.”
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Assuming that there are no last minute hiccups, it would appear to be back to the drawing board for Klopp and Jose Mourinho.