‘Join us’: Some Liverpool fans message World Cup winning defender urging him to sign in January

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Liverpool fans are urging Jerome Boateng to come and join them in January, after he messaged Virgil van Dijk on Twitter.

Van Dijk has been ruled out for the season after suffering an ACL injury on the back of a shocking challenge from Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby.

The loss of Van Dijk is a huge one for Liverpool, and there are fears growing that it could cost them the title.

Van Dijk is the steadying influence in Liverpool’s side and arguably Jurgen Klopp’s most important player.

Without him, the Reds’ defensive options look very limited.

But Liverpool supporters feel that Boateng could come in and do a job for them, if they launch a bid for the Bayern Munich defender in January.

Liverpool are likely to utilise Joel Matip and Joe Gomez as their first choice defensive pairing with Van Dijk sidelined.

Both Matip and Gomez are talented performers and have their strengths, but they have proven to be far more assured with Van Dijk alongside them.

It is not quite clear who the leader in the Reds’ backline will now be, and if they suffer any more injuries then they really are short of options.

Liverpool sold Dejan Lovren without replacing him in the summer, which means that they could either have to call upon Fabinho to play in defence or play a youngster, if they suffer another injury.

Billy Koumetio, Rhys Williams or Sepp van den Berg could potentially play in central defence to Liverpool, but giving them regular game time would be a huge risk, considering they are all still teenagers and have limited first-team experience.

Boateng, therefore, could make an appealing addition to the Reds if he was to become available.

The World Cup winning German is now 32, but he has proven that he can still perform well for Bayern, even at the highest level.

Boateng started last season’s Champions League final, as the Bundesliga side went on to win Europe’s biggest prize.

Boateng has also started three of Bayern’s four league matches to date this term, and seems to have a key role to play for Hansi Flick’s side.

For that reason he would be unlikely to come cheaply, but Liverpool may need to pay over the odds, to ensure that they have a chance of retaining their Premier League title.

Liverpool do have good relations with Bayern, having already bought Thiago Alcantara off them in the summer, and that could make doing a deal easier.

Boateng would also have the experience to cope in the Reds’ system, as he is so familiar with playing a high line.

Bayern arguably press even higher up the pitch than Liverpool, so he should be familiar with the sort of starting positions he would find himself in at Anfield.

And his knowhow could go a long way to covering for the massive void that Van Dijk leaves in Liverpool’s team.