Joe Gomez lasted just eight minutes before being forced off injured in Liverpool’s first pre-season fixture under Andoni Iraola. His departure against Sunderland left the club’s defence in the hands of two teenagers signed for a combined £3.5m from the U17 World Cup – Senegal’s Mor Talla Ndiaye and Austria’s Ifeanyi Ndukwe – neither of whom anyone inside the club expected to be the centre-back pairing for most of the match.
Even before the injury, Iraola said his squad was “very thin” defensively. Gomez, Liverpool’s longest-serving current player, has now missed 225 games through injury since signing from Charlton in 2015, according to Transfermarkt. An update on the severity of his latest setback is expected this week. He was absent from Liverpool’s training session in Chicago on Sunday.
“Joe Gomez injury leaves Liverpool with only one fit senior centre-back, forcing teenagers Ndiaye and Ndukwe into action.”
Virgil van Dijk, 35, is the club’s only fit senior centre-back. The Liverpool captain played every minute in the Premier League last season but is not the force he once was. Both Van Dijk and Gomez are entering the final year of their contracts, raising the possibility both will leave next summer.
Liverpool allowed Ibrahima Konate to join Real Madrid on a free transfer largely because they believed 21-year-old Jeremy Jacquet and 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni – signed for £60m and £26m respectively – were the best young centre-backs in France and Italy. Jacquet is in line to make his debut against Leeds on Sunday, but neither he nor Leoni are close to the finished product, leaving Iraola in a precarious position.
“We need players. It’s fairly obvious,” former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler told BBC Sport in New York, where the Reds face Wrexham on Wednesday. “I’m very sad for Joe Gomez, who has been so unfortunate with injuries. This could have been a real chance to cement his place and for him to show that we don’t need another centre-half.”
The need for reinforcements extends beyond defence. Liverpool are prioritising a marquee winger after Mohamed Salah left at the end of his contract. Bradley Barcola remains the number one target, and the Reds received a boost when the 23-year-old rejected a fresh contract offer from Paris Saint-Germain. However, PSG’s reported £140m asking price would set a club record, and Liverpool are unwilling to match that figure. Negotiations are expected to continue this week. Should a deal for Barcola fall through, Chelsea’s Pedro Neto is a possible fallback option.
The clock is ticking. Iraola’s squad is threadbare, and with the new Premier League season looming, Liverpool must act fast – not just to bolster their attack, but to ensure their defence isn’t held together by teenagers alone.