Liverpool’s Defender Search: Why the Reds Could Look for Two Players in One

Paul Joyce on Friday reported that Liverpool are likely to try to solve their problems at centre-back and right-back with one signing. Importantly, Joyce also said that, despite plenty of names being mentioned, no individual target has properly emerged yet.

Conor Bradley is still recovering from his serious knee injury, while Joe Gomez's latest fitness problem again highlights the danger of relying on him to cover two positions. Liverpool have already invested heavily in young centre-backs Jérémy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni, but asking two young defenders returning from significant injuries to immediately carry the defence alongside Virgil van Dijk feels risky.

James Pearce had already reported earlier this summer that right-back was one of the positions Liverpool felt needed addressing, with business expected to happen later in the window.

So rather than signing another specialist centre-back and another specialist right-back, finding the next Joe Gomez-type player makes a lot of sense.

Is Ezri Konsa the obvious option?

The name I keep coming back to is Ezri Konsa.

There have been links with the Aston Villa defender, and TEAMtalk has reported that Liverpool have considered him as part of their defensive search. But it's worth stressing that we haven't yet had a Joyce, Ornstein or Pearce report saying Liverpool are actively negotiating for Konsa, so I'd still put him firmly in the “one to watch” rather than “deal happening” category.

On paper, though, it's easy to see why supporters like the idea.

Konsa is Premier League proven, homegrown and comfortable playing both centre-back and right-back. At 28, he could come straight into the side without Liverpool having to wait for him to develop, while Jacquet and Leoni could still be viewed as the long-term options.

He isn't the exciting 21-year-old wonderkid signing everyone immediately runs to YouTube for, but sometimes the boring transfer is exactly the one a squad needs.

Djed Spence has also been mentioned recently, although Ben Jacobs has said Liverpool are not currently working on a deal for the Tottenham defender. And while Spence offers versatility across both full-back positions, he doesn't really solve the centre-back problem in the same way someone like Konsa potentially would and there are question marks about his attacking ability.

And then there's Jarell Quansah...

This is where Liverpool's longer-term thinking could become interesting.

When Quansah joined Bayer Leverkusen, Fabrizio Romano reported that Liverpool had secured a buy-back clause starting from around €60 million plus add-ons, available from 2027.

That makes next summer much more interesting than this one.

Quansah has now had regular Bundesliga and Champions League football, broken into the England picture and continued developing away from Anfield. Rather than spending huge money to bring him back immediately, Liverpool could potentially allow him another full season in Germany before deciding whether to activate that option in 2027.

And maybe that's part of the thinking.

Sign an experienced, versatile CB/RB now, someone who can immediately help Iraola, and then reassess the long-term centre-back situation next summer when Quansah becomes a realistic option again.

Personally, Konsa feels almost tailor-made for what Liverpool currently need. Whether Liverpool actually feel the same strongly enough to pay Aston Villa's asking price is another matter.

But Joyce's report is significant.

Liverpool thankfully appear to know they need another defender. More importantly, they seem to know they need one capable of doing two jobs rather than one.

Now we just need a name to finally stick, ideally before the first game of the season away at Newcastle.