Liverpool considering transfer gamble that could define Arne Slot's first summer

Heading into this summer, it appeared to most people that Liverpool had one transfer priority above all else: center-back. With Joel Matip leaving, there is a void to be filled, albeit the Cameroonian spent more of last season out injured.

Virgil van Dijk, who turns 33 before the end of Euro 2024, has only a year left on his contract at Anfield as things stand - though that should be renewed and extended, and there are question marks over the other defensive options that Arne Slot inherits for a variety of reasons. With Matip gone, there is undoubtedly a gap.

Joe Gomez spent most of last season filling in at full-back, Ibrahima Konate is prone to picking up injuries, and Jarell Quansah, while he should have a long and glittering career at Liverpool, is still very young. Quansah needs to be protected and not overplayed.

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Nonetheless, the ECHO reports that signing a central defender is NOT viewed as a priority by Liverpool this summer. The club supposedly believes that it already has a good range of players to choose from in that position, though if Lille wonderkid Leny Yoro was available and not heading to Real Madrid, as is the current expectation, then the Reds would be prepared to pounce.

Failure to find an alternative to Yoro, though, should one be required, would be an almighty gamble. With more matches next season because of the expanded Champions League format and a return to UEFA's top competition meaning the fixture list will be considerably more difficult, Liverpool needs a stronger squad, not a weaker one.

The last time Liverpool left itself short at the back, the Reds had a calamitous campaign that saw Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams fill in, only after Jordan Henderson and Fabinho had tried and failed. The lesson from that year needs to be learned and no risks should be taken, especially with Slot only just arriving. He can't afford a squad crisis as he builds his reputation in the Premier League.

It would not take much for Konate to be out for a period with a knock and Gomez to be needed at full-back. That would leave, in this hypothetical example, Van Dijk and Quansah to play every minute of action when the big matches domestically and in Europe will be coming thicker and faster than ever before.

Quickly, one player being out can lead to another joining them on the sidelines because they have been over-exerted. And while you can get away with having just four center-backs - one more than Liverpool went into the 2021/22 season with - that is not the full story here. At least one is injury prone and another will almost certainly be needed at times elsewhere on the field.

If Liverpool doesn't view bringing in another central defender as a priority, it will be interesting to see what else takes precedence. Even if the perfect option (seemingly Yoro) isn't available to the Reds, they would be taking a huge risk by not deciding on another defensive signing instead.