Heading into the last two seasons, Liverpool boast arguably the best and most complete corps of centre-backs in world football.
In addition to the all-time great in Virgil van Dijk, the Reds have one of the best young defensive talents in Ibrahima Konate and Joel Joel, who played a big role in the club’s 2019 Champions League triumph. It had one of the most underrated options in Matip. victory.
Joe Gomez was arguably the weakest of the four due to his instability, but at his best he was at least as good as any English centre-back.
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However, Konate was the only player to really deliver results in the 2022/23 season, and even then he missed a great deal of time due to injury (almost three months in total) and the failures of his juniors. was exposed.
Matip seemed to have finally caught up with his own injury problems after struggling, while Gomes rocked hard in the shadow of a nightmare of commanding performances and mistakes.
Most notably, of course, Van Dijk’s long, near-unbeaten run suffered a sharp downturn that gave his opponents new confidence.
In this context, 22/23 runners-up Arsenal have the upper hand when it comes to centre-halves.
Like Konate, a potential long-term partner at France-Eleven, William Saliba is on his way to world-class status, and many attributed Arsenal’s slump at the end of last season to injury. blaming.
Fresh off a new long-term contract after an excellent first season, Saliba is a man that Mikel Arteta will be at the center of his development.
His other players include Gabriel, who makes the occasional mistake but is better than Gomes and Matip at this stage, and who spent most of last season at right-back but also works as an ideal centre-half in modern times. Ben White, and Jakub Kiviol included. The $26m (£20m/€23m) 23-year-old should be even more prominent in his sophomore season.
Importantly, Arsenal have now agreed to add Ajax’s Julian Timber to their ranks. $49m (£39m/€45m) According to Sky Sports, it will trade with the Dutch giant. Former Eredivisie Player of the Year, Timber has taken Arsenal’s backline to the next level.
For now, the Gunners are expected to compete with Manchester City in this division, but Aymeric Laporte’s exit is ‘almost certain’ and the future of Pep Guardiola’s roster is uncertain, according to The Athletic. tells us.
Manchester City want to sign Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig (via BBC Sport). That would give Guardiola an unparalleled option, but it remains to be seen if a deal will go through.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are looking to re-establish themselves at the top of the list with the addition of a much-needed newcomer, which could be Chelsea’s Levi Colwill if there is a vacancy (via David Lynch/Redmen TV). With two midfielders already added, adding one more defender should be a priority (not just to compete with Arsenal, but to strengthen its ranks. However, two may occur simultaneously).
A key player in England’s under-21 side, which has just won the European Championship without conceding a single goal, Colwill is one of the best long-term additions the Reds can offer, even if Chelsea are desperate to keep him. There are other players Liverpool are considering.
But whoever comes in, Liverpool must not get ahead of themselves. Arsenal have made an unexpected move by signing Timber, Kai Havertz and most importantly Declan Rice for a combined transfer fee of over $256m (£200m/€233m). It may have ensured that the title challenge would definitely succeed.
Liverpool may naturally look to City’s benchmarks, but their first objective must be to jump past Arteta’s side, who finished with 17 points last season.
If Jürgen Klopp manages to put his team back in contention for the top spot, they will need to be wary of new competitors.
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