Liverpool might have won every major honour on offer under Jurgen Klopp, but that hasn’t stopped the German from needing to put together the building blocks for the next generation of his mentality monsters.
With star players ageing and nearing the end of their contracts, the Reds are in a transitional period as they gradually revamp their trophy-laden squad that has been so successful in recent years. An overhaul in attack was the club’s priority focus in 2022, as Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho were all brought in, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota were handed new long-term contracts and Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi all departed.
The midfield is pencilled in to be Liverpool’ s priority in 2023 as links with the likes of long-term target Jude Bellingham persist. With James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Juventus loanee Arthur Melo all not contracted to the Reds beyond next summer, and Fabinho set to join Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Milner on the wrong side of 30 next year, it’s clear Klopp ’s engine room is poised to look rather different next season.
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Yet it’s logical that once such midfield surgery is completed, Liverpool’s attentions will turn to their defence. In truth, they have gradually been treating the backline as they go along, as demonstrated by the signings of Ibrahima Konate and Calvin Ramsay, but there will come a time when a further revamp is required.
In goal, Klopp can feel content with Alisson Becker still only 30 years old and set to enter his goalkeeping peak. As a result, the Reds are unlikely to be in need of a number one shot-stopper anytime soon, though Caoimhin Kelleher’s desire to be a first-choice of his own could see Liverpool in the market for a new back-up.
At right-back the Reds are seemingly also sorted for the foreseeable future with Trent Alexander-Arnold still just 24 and his new understudy, Ramsay, still only 19. It could be a bit more pressing on the opposing flank with Andy Robertson aged 28 and Kostas Tsimikas aged 26, yet with all four full-backs contracted until 2025 at the very least, it is hardly the burning matter that Klopp and Liverpool’s recruitment team have faced in attack and midfield over the past 12 months.
Yet it’s potentially a different story at centre-back despite the signing of Konate in 2021 and Joe Gomez signing a new long-term contract until 2027 last summer. Aged 25 and 23, the pair could be the Reds’ future first-choice pairing, with Virgil van Dijk even admitting: “These two are going to take my place at one point though,” when speaking to a young fan during the club’s virtual Alder Hey Christmas visits last year.
But Liverpool will need more than two centre-backs, as their haunting 2020/21 campaign ultimately taught them. As a result, it’s here where their next revamp could take place.
Van Dijk will celebrate his 32nd birthday next July and remains under-contract until 2025. Still one of the very best defenders in the world, it would be a surprise if the Reds don’t look to retain his services beyond that expiry date as he gets older, as they have done with Salah and Henderson as experienced heads, even if his ever-present starting status started to come under-threat.
Yet it could be a different story with Joel Matip, whose current contract is set to expire in 2024. Set to turn 32 in August, the Cameroonian has been riddled by injuries throughout his Anfield career, not unlike the likes of the soon-to-be out of contract Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain. As a result, he could be the next big-name Bosman exit when that deal expires, following in the footsteps of the likes of Gini Wijnaldum.
While Matip is still a quality defender and a valued member of Klopp’s first team squad, injuries limited him to just eight appearances during the first half of the season. Consequently, he is susceptible to being one of the next senior players eased out and replaced at Anfield.
And if Liverpool are to target a new centre-back in the future, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could have provided the perfect stage for one potential signing to further catch the eye of the Reds’ recruitment team.
Josko Gvardiol has been one of the standout players for Croatia so far during the tournament, playing alongside former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren to help his homeland progress to the quarter-finals. Competing in the knockout stages for only the third time in their history, his performance in 0-0 draw with Belgium to secure such progression earned widespread praise in particular.
His international boss, Zlatko Dalic, is inevitably a big fan. “Gvardiol is the best central defender in the world,” he’d insist. “He is so mature. The way he plays, with the grace he controls the ball. It’s amazing.”
Meanwhile, former Bayern forward Ivica Olic has also lauded compatriot: “Everyone is talking about this boy. All the top clubs in Europe know him. Gvardiol is an extraordinary talent. He can play great long balls, is a fine technician and is physically very strong.”
The 20-year-old, who has been impossible to miss in Qatar having been forced to wear a face mask because of a broken nose, is already one of Europe’s most highly-rated young defenders. He finished sixth in this year's Kopa Trophy, behind Gavi, Eduardo Camavinga, Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Nuno Mendes, and has repeatedly been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent months.
Chelsea saw a €90m bid rejected for the player, who is already the third most expensive Croatian defender in history behind Lovren and Duje Caleta-Car, back in September and are tipped to make a further move to sign Gvardiol in the months ahead. And in an interview with the Athletic , he did little to play down the possibility of a future move.
“About me and Chelsea? I don’t know,” he said. “You know what happened in the last few months. To be honest, I have no idea. My agent is taking care of this and we will see. Right now, I’m happy in Leipzig. I don’t know, we will see – you never know.
“You know the stories and these things, but all I can say is that I’m happy in Leipzig and right now I’m going to stay there and perform for them. It’s a big club of course and, who knows, maybe one day I will be there. It’s really nice to see things like this, especially because there is Kovacic, so you never know. I talk with him.
“Even to be here on this, the biggest event, it’s a big thing for me at 20 years old so I’m happy. I have to think about it.”
Gvardiol was signed by RB Leipzig in September 2020 from Dinamo Zagreb, but wouldn’t link up with the Bundesliga outfit until the following season as he essentially helped replace both Konate and Dayot Upamecano. Since then, he has made 66 appearances for the German outfit, impressed in the Champions League and helped them win the DFB-Pokal last season.
A rare mixture of a pacey left-footed centre-back who is also great on the ball, his dribbling ability and passing attributes do follow the same mould of a Van Dijk or a Matip. Meanwhile, having successfully replaced Konate at Leipzig, he seemingly possesses a similar skillset to make such a move to the Premier League himself in the future.
Despite interest from Chelsea, and previously rejecting a move to Leeds United, Liverpool have also been linked with Gvardiol, with the player himself admitting in the past that he grew up a Reds fan.
“Since I was a little boy, my dad and I watched Liverpool matches, and I grew up with only them,” he told Croatia news outlet 24Sata. “When I took football more seriously, I started following them, and I definitely want the Premier League and Liverpool.”
Of course, such an admission is hardly enough to encourage Liverpool to bid for his services. Yet they would be well-placed to move for the Croatian if they were interested, given their strong links with the Red Bull group amid their previous signings of Keita and Konate from RB Leipzig, Minamino from Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull alumni Mane.
The Reds’ recruitment team will inevitably be monitoring Gvardiol, and have been aware of him long before he started making global headlines in Qatar. After all, when speaking of Liverpool’s scouting and research behind the scenes, Klopp declared last month: “There is no player in the world who scores a goal and we don’t know it. That’s how it is. If somebody makes a save, we know it. That’s the situation, that’s what will go on. It’s clear.”
On paper, Gvardiol ticks Liverpool boxes. His strengths are what Klopp looks for in a centre-back and he fits the profile of the sort of player that could be a long-term replacement for a Van Dijk or Matip. A boyhood Red on Red Bull books, he’s potentially there for the taking if they want him.
Yet it could be a case of right player, wrong time as the 20-year-old’s future remains the subject of speculation. With Chelsea reportedly pushing ahead to sign the Croatian next year, and Liverpool currently having other priorities, they risk missing out as a result.
The time will come when Klopp needs a new centre-back in the not too distant future. But as right as Gvardiol looks for the Reds on paper, if he is to leave RB Leipzig for the Premier League in 2023, on this occasion he unfortunately looks unlikely to be Liverpool’s long-term answer.
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