© IMAGO – Richard Hughes Arne Slot Liverpool
Liverpool need defenders because they are starting to run out of them.
Giovanni Leoni’s injury means there’s a lack of depth in the centre-back department at Anfield. Jarell Quansah left in the summer which leaves Liverpool with just three senior options.
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Only one of those options is someone who doesn’t suffer from frequent injuries in Virgil van Dijk.
Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez on the other hand are definitely less reliable when it comes to their fitness.
So, it makes sense why the Reds wanted to sign Marc Guehi over the course of the summer. It makes sense why they are still pursuing defenders and why Guehi is not the only one on their radar.
Given Van Dijk is not getting any younger, Gomez is on AC Milan’s radar and Konate has less than a year left on his contract with no news of him renewing yet, there’s a good chance we are going to be seeing an influx of defenders in the coming year or so.
But just who could these defenders be? Guehi will likely be one of them. He’s good on the ball, an excellent defender and he’s got lots of experience.
He’s the perfect fit, especially considering he’s available on a free transfer next summer.
To complement him, Liverpool could look to add another centre-back and the perfect option has just presented itself.
As we wrote about, Liverpool scouts have been in awe of Rion Ichihara at the U20 World Cup. The Japanese centre-back scored two goals and put in some outstanding performances to help his side reach the knock-out stages of the tournament.
Only recently turned 20-years-old, Ichihara is still very young when it comes to centre-backs but he seems to have a lot of potential.
He’s composed on the ball and is very good at dictating the play from the backline. In Japan’s opening game of the tournament he made 28 passes into the opposition’s final third.
So, he loves playing the ball forward, which is what Slot needs from his centre-backs but Ichihara is also a great defender who wins a lot of duels.
In the group-stages he contested 10 aerial duels and won every single one of them. In J2 League, he wins 74% of his aerial duels playing for Red Bull Omiya, which is a club currently overseen by Jurgen Klopp in his role at Red Bull.
© IMAGO – Rion Ichihara Liverpool
Ichihara is the perfect fit for Liverpool. He’s young, and he’s ready to make the next step out of Japan. Joining a club like Liverpool is a gigantic leap but he’s showcased he can play against some of the best young talent across the globe and not just play but stand-out with his performances.
He won’t be coming in as first choice but as a back-up option, he’d be an astute player to have. He’d learn from the likes of Van Dijk, perhaps Guehi and hopefully Konate, while establishing a future partnership with Leoni.
It’s something Liverpool should seriously look at. Ichihara is an outstanding prospect, and he looks like he could go very far in the game.
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