Liverpool not signing a centre-back in January is a risk in more ways than one

The Premier League champions have been beset with injuries at the back which is harming their play both defensively and in attack

Van Dijk faces the rest of the season on the sidelines (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

During Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool tenure, no position has been externally discussed nor internally assessed more than the club’s heart of defence.

When circling Virgil van Dijk as the priority target for centre-back in 2017, a process that painstakingly analysed every usual variable as well as how candidates handled pressure situations while having lots of space to cover, there was credence that making him the world’s most expensive defender would pay dividends.

Even the six-month wait to land the Netherlands captain following up a tapping-up complaint from Southampton was not enough to deter Liverpool from pursuing him and only him, despite the noise to get any centre-half in.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Aymeric Laporte, Manuel Akanji and Jose Gimenez were some of the alternatives under consideration at the time but none could compete with the traits the Merseysiders specifically wanted from the Netherlands captain.

Liverpool went all in on Van Dijk, but were also designing a long-term plan for the position by monitoring the best emerging centre-halves at elite level.

Fast forward and while Klopp’s side have posted recorded defensive numbers, lifted the Champions League and ended a three-decade longing for the title, there has been an unshakable view that they’ve left that department open to vulnerabilities.

The sight of two midfielders in Jordan Henderson and Fabinho stationed at centre-back in the defeat at Southampton speaks to that, with only the inexperienced Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams in reserve.

While Liverpool could not legislate for Jordan Pickford’s brainless challenge that damaged Van Dijk’s ACL in October, nor the knee injury sustained by Joe Gomez without contact during England training a month later, they have long been aware of the need to ensure greater availability there.

Both Joel Matip and Gomez, while great and core to what has been achieved, cannot be relied upon for large swathes of a season through persistent niggles.

Klopp has said it is “unlikely” that Liverpool will find a solution to their defensive crisis during the transfer market due to the ruinous financial effects of coronavirus and the difficulty of a mid-season signing in the current climate with isolation rules and such.

It is completely understandable that the club do not want to rush decisions or panic buy this month in a deviation from the principles that have driven their success.

Liverpool’s situation dictates that a centre-back being brought in during this window should be able to slot straight into the starting line-up given the absence of training time to adjust to Klopp’s demands and build chemistry.

That is a hard box to tick before adding it criteria like availability, affordability and plausibility. As an example, Ben White, who has been admired for a while, would be incredibly hard to secure now.

The club’s thinking has been no move is better than the wrong move, especially if you can get the right one done in due course.

On the financial front, it is instructive to note that Wolves accepted just shy of 10% of the guaranteed fee for Diogo Jota in the first 12 months, which was offset by Ki-Jana Hoever's £13.5m sale to them.

The deal for Thiago saw a guaranteed £20m being paid over the course of the player’s contract.

Liverpool may have to get creative if they are to secure a defender this month - a loan or such - but more imperative is that they properly fortify the rearguard in the summer.

Van Dijk and Gomez’s return from long-term injuries will need to be carefully managed. There is also no guarantee as to how either player will perform post-rehab after debilitating setbacks.

Having been conservative with regards to this department in the past, Liverpool will most probably have to sign two established centre-backs this summer.

Three senior natural players for the position is not enough if none of them are bankers to last a full season and it is better to have the headache of five fit central defenders than none.

While Liverpool’s issues at the back have not harmed them in a solidity sense without the ball, it has degraded their offensive powers.

The loss of Van Dijk’s passing range to exploit space and bypass the opposition’s press or Matip and Gomez’s ability to step out with the ball has harmed their build-up play.

While Henderson and Fabinho are both accomplished midfielders with their absence felt in the centre of the park, neither have replicated these crucial elements to start attacks.

Liverpool’s inability to use possession as effectively as they used to has given them more work to do without it.

Across the last month, starting with the Champions League draw at FC Midtjylland, Klopp’s men have recorded only two wins from seven fixtures in all competitions.

While those triumphs were gigantic - the ousting of Tottenham ate into Jose Mourinho’s title ambitions before Crystal Palace were annihilated 7-0 in a match that framed Liverpool as overwhelming favourites to be crowned champions again - they have been sandwiched by a notable drop in chance creation.

In the last three clashes against West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United, and Southampton, only seven shots on target have been registered in total, with one of those resulting in a goal.

Liverpool’s risk in not signing a centre-back is evidently more than just a defensive problem.