Paul Gorst has suggested that Arne Slot’s plans for one Liverpool player could have a significant bearing on the club’s transfer strategy this summer.
The Reds had shown an interest in French centre-back Leny Yoro but ultimately opted against paying the fee that Manchester United forked out to bring him to Old Trafford earlier this week.
Reflecting on that saga for The Redmen TV, the journalist voiced his belief that the new head coach’s plans for Joe Gomez – who can play in any position across the backline – may determine whether or not LFC need to sign a central defender before the end of August.
Gorst said: “The big one for me is what happens with Joe Gomez. Where does Slot see him? We know [Jurgen] Klopp played him at right-back and then had to sort of play him at left-back, and he shone there really. He got himself back into the England setup on the back of those performances.
“If he goes back to being an orthodox centre-back next season, then Liverpool probably are OK there. If he’s gonna continue as this high-quality utility man that he was last season, then I think Liverpool probably do need a defender.”
FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE
If Slot intends to use Gomez centrally, and assuming that Virgil van Dijk starts when available, that leaves the 27-year-old competing for a place with Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah, with Sepp van den Berg also a potential option based on the impression he’s made in pre-season training.
As Gorst alluded to, that’d make for plenty of centre-back depth, but if the ex-Charlton man is seen by the head coach as primarily a full-back, suddenly the list of central options looks somewhat threadbare.
It’s a tricky balance for Liverpool to get right, but having seen injuries decimate our squad last season, let’s pray that we don’t end up with massive regrets if that area of the pitch is ravaged by similar woes during the coming campaign.
You can view Gorst’s comments on Gomez below (from 7:13), via The Redmen TV on YouTube:
The post (Video) ‘Where does Slot see him?’ – Gorst suggests one player could impact LFC transfer strategy appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
