Two events in the early part of the 2025/26 season left Liverpool short of centre-back options.
Firstly, we saw a £35m offer for Marc Guhi on transfer deadline day fail after Crystal Palace pulled out of the deal. Then Giovanni Leoni suffered a torn ACL on his Reds’ debut – meaning Arne Slot’s potential options in the position reduced from five to three.
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The load is now heavy on Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and to a lesser extent Joe Gomez. Arne Slot is just one injury or suspension away from having to field a makeshift centre-back and that is less than ideal for a top side.
Liverpool like Sven Botman
Furthermore Liverpool could end up losing Konate, 26, on a free at the end of the season unless a new contract deal can be struck.
It would be no surprise to see the Premier League champions consider a signing in the January transfer window should the right deal materialise.
And in recent weeks it’s emerged that Newcastle star Sven Botman is a name on the Reds’ recruiters list.
No doubt the Dutchman’s contract situation makes him a more attractive prospect. The 25-year-old is only under contract at St. James’ Park until 2027.
Liverpool will launch £70m Botman bid
The Geordies are desperate to renew the Netherlands’ international but in the meantime he could be an intriguing signing for another top club.
Fichajes is now claiming that Liverpool are prepared to offer €80m (£70m) in the January transfer window in order to land Botman – who first joined Newcastle from Lille in 2022.
Interestingly the report adds that Arne Slot would like to sign Botman as a rotation option instead of Van Dijk and Konate.
Should we take it as a given that Liverpool are therefore optimistic of securing Konate to a long-term renewal? Time will tell.
Liverpool have also been linked with other defenders in the shape of Alessandro Bastoni, Ronald Araujo and Nico Schlotterbeck.
Richard Hughes and Liverpool’s backroom team clearly have their eyes on high-quality centre-backs and Botman could be just the ticket in the new year.
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