Two teenagers bought for a combined £3.5m after impressing at the U17 World Cup in Qatar last November became Liverpool's unexpected centre-back pairing for most of their opening pre-season fixture — a stark illustration of a defensive crisis that has left the club with only one fit senior centre-back.
Senegal's Mor Talla Ndiaye and Austria's Ifeanyi Ndukwe were signed as part of long-term planning under director of global talent Matt Newberry, but were thrust into action when Joe Gomez limped off in the eighth minute against Sunderland. With both Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni still unfit, new head coach Andoni Iraola faces an immediate headache.
“Liverpool's defensive injury crisis forces teenage duo Ndiaye and Ndukwe into action as only Van Dijk remains fit.”
Even before the injury, Iraola admitted his squad was "very thin" defensively. Gomez, Liverpool's longest-serving current player, was absent from training in Chicago on Sunday, and an update on the severity of his injury is expected this week. Since signing from Charlton in 2015, Gomez has missed 225 games because of injury, according to Transfermarkt.
Virgil van Dijk, 35, is now Liverpool's only fit senior centre-back. The captain played every minute in the Premier League last season but is no longer the force he once was. Both Van Dijk and Gomez are in the last year of their contracts, raising the possibility that both could leave next summer.
The decision to allow Ibrahima Konate to join Real Madrid on a free transfer was based on the club's belief that Jacquet, 21, and Leoni, 19 — 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 both are far from the finished product, as are Ndiaye and Ndukwe.
"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."
Fowler added: "We've spent money on Jacquet and Leoni and the guidance that Joe and Virgil can give from their experience to the young lads is telling. We won't see the best version of the young lads yet, but you do need that experience in the squad."
With the transfer window still open and Iraola openly calling for reinforcements, Liverpool's faith in youth faces its first serious test — one that will determine whether their long-term planning becomes a blueprint or a liability.
