Liverpool have held talks ‘this week’ to seal a Van Dijk-like signing

Liverpool They are waiting for this nightmare to end, and to rediscover what last season looked like underneath Arnie slotSuite which led to Premier League The title is a summer of sweeping changes.

The signings made this summer were finalized after careful consideration, but even so, the Reds have been a dismal squad this year, lacking identity and inspiration. Even in the win, Liverpool gave their opponents plenty of optimism.

It is worth noting that Liverpool were much better defensively than has often been the case this season, but this did little to allay the fears of fans who were forced to accept a bleak new standard.

Among the bitter pills that were swallowed was the appearance of the captain Virgil van DijkThe centre-back is at the core of Liverpool’s problems this season and lacks the solutions often offered during his illustrious career at the club.

Virgil van Dijk has regressed this season

Liverpool’s monster has been made deadly by the breakdown in the slot system this season. Ibrahima KonateThere is no doubt that Van Dijk’s suffering was exacerbated by the slow, invincible stagnation for Van Dijk.

He is 34 years old, and 35 at the end of the season. Naturally, the Netherlands captain began to decline. However, it puts Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes in a major dilemma as Konate approaches the end of his term. His contract is worth £70,000 a week.

Liverpool signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma for £27m this summer, but the 18-year-old Italian tore his anterior cruciate ligament on his debut against Southampton and is not expected to return until the start of next season.

The Italian would have provided much-needed dimension over the last few months, allowing Slot to force more of the rotation, with Konate starting all of his side’s Premier League matches this season despite his stuttering run. Van Dijk now stumbles beside him.

Change is needed, and with the January transfer window approaching, it is clear that Liverpool need a centre-back.

Liverpool is targeting the centre-back next January

According to TEAMtalkLiverpool are set to make an offer for the Crystal Palace captain Mark Guehi This winter, after he reopened direct communications this week with the player’s agents after a deal to sign him fell through in August.

Guehi’s contract with Selhurst Park expires at the end of the season, and while Liverpool had a clean shot at signing the 25-year-old at the start of the season, particularly until personal terms were agreed with the player, interest from rivals is now certain to be intense, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid considered suitors.

Sources suggest that FSG are willing to offer around £25m for Guehi’s signature in January, paying something premium for one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

What will Guehi bring to Liverpool?

Guehi could be plying his game at Liverpool right now, but that was not the case as sporting director Richard Hughes bet and left it too late, with Palace closing the door at the eleventh hour after failing to find a replacement.

It’s a real shame. Guehi is an experienced Premier League star who continues to improve. It has been hailed as “The beast is on defenseBy Palace Correspondent Bobby Manzi But he is much more than that.

According to data-driven website FBref, Guehi ranks in the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for through balls, top 6% for assists and shot creation movements, and top 15% for tackles won per 90.

If Liverpool are successful in completing a deal for the two-legged midfielder this winter, it could carry the weight of a one-off signing of Van Dijk, who joined from Southampton midway through the 2017/18 season for a fee of £75m.

Van Dijk needs no introduction. He is one of the greatest defenders in the history of the Premier League, a giant of the game.

He fit into Jurgen Klopp’s exciting side and reinforced it with steel. He was the mortar that filled the cracks and created a super team.

Big shoes to fill, but Guehi is broadly defined and can emulate the Dutchman by arriving midway through the season, providing much-needed relief.

After such incredible success in recent years, it is astonishing that Liverpool have so far fallen below expected level. This is verging on a crisis, and one signing won’t halt the decline forever, but Guehi has a combative and confident defensive style to help get the Reds back on track, with his quality in the build-up something Konate simply does not possess.

It is Van Dijk, and given that Guehi is due to arrive in January after previous attempts to sign him, this could have echoes of that much-needed splashy deal.