What could Liverpool do in defence this summer?
There’s been some talk of Liverpool being potential suitors for Benjamin Pavard, but I would rule that out quite strongly. From what I know about how Liverpool do their business, the age and profile of the player just doesn’t fit Liverpool. I wouldn’t expect a move for Pavard, but it is true that the Reds are a little short at right-back, regardless of whether they persist with Trent Alexander-Arnold in his new hybrid midfield role. Even if Trent plays a full season at right-back, they’re a bit short of backup – Calvin Ramsay is leaving on loan after a difficult time with injuries, while Conor Bradley is returning from loan at Bolton and is probably not quite ready to play more first-team football at Anfield. It would be a big ask for the young lad to immediately step up and fill in in what has been such an important position for the club in the Klopp era.
Last season, the main backup right-back was James Milner, who’s now left for Brighton. They’ve also had Joe Gomez, but he’s had a bit of a tough time and has not really been on top form, while he’s also needed as an option at centre-back, so it’s clear Liverpool have a bit of a shortage there. Even if it’s just cover, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they did try to make a signing in that position soon. If you look at what Manchester City have done really successfully in the last few seasons, they’ve been able to get players in who can play two positions in the back line, so Nathan Ake can fill in at centre-back or left-back, Manuel Akanji has played all across the back line, and I think Liverpool would love to get someone in who can do that.
Still, I don’t think it’ll be Pavard, primarily because of the age of the player. It has to be a younger player, and there’s also the left-hand side of central defence to think about as well because Virgil van Dijk is coming into his early 30s now and it might be more of a priority to find someone there as well. Jurrien Timber is someone who’s been linked recently, though it now looks like Arsenal are working on that deal, while there was also past interest from Manchester United. From the conversations I’ve had, I’ve not been given too much encouragement about him – if you look at the centre-backs Liverpool have had, Timber would represent a bit of a change; if you look at the likes of Van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool like to have taller, more physical players, but with pace as well. They like to play a high line and so they need that recovery pace and aerial dominance, so I think recruiting someone like Timber would represent a bit of a change of tack.
Of course, Timber’s a fine player and at a good age now, with that blend of youth and experience, showing what he can do in European football and at international level. He’d also have a link with the other Dutch players at Liverpool, Van Dijk and Cody Gakpo, so I think the link ticks some boxes, but my understanding is that since the end of last season the interest has maybe cooled a little and it’s probably not going to be him they’re signing. There is a need to sign a defender, though, whether that’s a specialist right-back or someone who can play in two positions – Van Dijk, Matip and Konate don’t have flawless injury records, so it could be a gamble going into the new season without adding one more to that area of the squad.
There were also links with Kim Min-jae after his superb form at Napoli, but again it’s not quite the impression I was getting due to the age of the player. He’s obviously had this situation with the release clause in his contract, and that’s always going to attract attention, but it now looks like he’s going to Bayern Munich. I think Liverpool would still always prefer a young player, someone more in the Konate mould – someone who’s not necessarily reached their full potential yet, but who’s in their early 20s with their peak still to come, whereas Kim is 26, turning 27 next season.
Of course, Kim’s a top player, so fans might ask if it’s not worth making an exception from time to time, but Liverpool are quite strict on this, and the only time they’ve really done things differently was with Thiago Alcantara. They obviously saw an opportunity to sign him from Bayern and make a bit of a statement just after they won the league. But we definitely don’t see that too often.
A name to look out for could be Micky van de Ven at Wolfsburg. He’s 22 years old, tall, physically imposing, left-sided, and someone who looks like having a big future with the Dutch national team. I think he’s someone who’d make a lot more sense for Liverpool than a Kim Min-jae or another more proven name.
Liverpool missed Sadio Mane last season – and he may not be finished in the Premier League yet
It’s not been easy seeing Sadio Mane’s decline since moving to Bayern Munich last summer. It’s an interesting one again, though, because in recent years we’ve seen Liverpool let two players go in Mane and also Gini Wijnaldum, who a lot of fans would’ve ideally kept, but they’ve both gone on to have similar issues at their new clubs – they’ve not really settled, not got the love from their new fans, they’ve had a bit of bad luck with injury problems, so it feels like it might’ve been the right time to sell after all.
Wijnaldum’s career in particular hasn’t really recovered since leaving Liverpool. I do think that Mane, however, is more likely to still have something left in him and to rediscover his mojo. It was surreal seeing Bayern chasing the Bundesliga title on the final day but leaving Mane as an unused substitute – you’d have thought that was unthinkable after the standards he reached at Liverpool over the years, and it’s incredible that they didn’t want to turn to him in such a big game. It’s a reminder that sometimes what seem like obvious transfers don’t necessarily pay off.
I think there were a lot of times last season when I watched Liverpool and they missed Mane hugely, and I still think that. I’m sure they could’ve got more out of him being at the club than they did from the £30-35m they got from selling him to Bayern. I think he’s far from finished as a player and he could’ve continued to have a positive impact at Liverpool.
He won’t be coming back to Liverpool, I think we can safely rule that out, but his struggles at Bayern will make for an interesting situation this summer. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him back in the Premier League, with Newcastle recently linked with him, and of course the Saudi situation adds another layer of complexity to the market because it feels like they could target almost anyone, so maybe that’ll be an option for him, but from my point of view I’d still love to see Mane playing in the Champions League, playing at the top level, and reminding everyone of just how good he is, because the Bayern version of him isn’t the real him. I think Liverpool fans would all love to see him smiling again and showing just what a fantastic player he is.