Liverpool already have a number of centre backs but now find themselves being linked with a move to sign Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger.
The Reds paid big money for Ibrahima Konate over the summer and of course still have Virgil van Dijk.
Joel Matip has impressed this season but Joe Gomez is considering his future and who knows what Nat Phillips will do in the coming years.
If Liverpool were to sign another centre back, it would surely have to be a low-cost bargain – and that may well be the case with Rudiger.
The Chelsea star – who cost the Blues £29million in 2017 – is out of contract at the end of the season and could leave for free.
Liverpool’s interest in Rudiger
Eurosport claim that Rudiger wants a big increase on his £130,000-a-week wages, and Liverpool now want to sign him for free according to another update from Eurosport.
Signing a player of Rudiger’s quality for free would be incredible in itself, but weakening a direct rival too?
That could be perfect for Liverpool.
Rudiger is around his peak years at 28 and is one of the Premier League’s top defenders. If you pair him with Virgil van Dijk, few strikers would fancy playing against Liverpool.
Rudiger’s opinion on Klopp
What’s interesting is that Rudiger actually came through at Borussia Dortmund when Jurgen Klopp was managing there.
Rudiger spent three years with Dortmund before leaving for Stuttgart in 2011 at the age of 18.
Rudiger never played in the Dortmund first team under now-Liverpool boss Klopp, but still has a great opinion of him.
Speaking to Goal, Rudiger suggested that Klopp makes you feel like ‘you’re the best in the world’.
Rudiger added that Klopp used to watch him a lot and even invited him to a first-team friendly, so Rudiger has great respect for him even after leaving Dortmund.
“I didn’t get much, but when he spoke to me at the friendly match I saw he’s a coach that gives you motivation, like you’re the best in the world,” said Rudiger. “That’s very good and one of his best skills as a coach.”
“He had nothing to do with [me leaving], because I was in the youth [team]. I knew for myself I had to leave Dortmund to play first-team football. I spoke to him twice, because he used to watch a lot of academy games. He also invited me to a friendly match.”
“I was 16, or something like that. For me, it was important because at the time, Dortmund won the league twice in a row. There was almost no chance [to make my debut]. So for me, I was young but I was very realistic. I thought: ‘Okay, maybe I need to go’. It wasn’t a step back, maybe it was even a step forward. I went to a team that was a bit lower [in the table] but I was playing,” he added.
Liverpool may well hope that Rudiger’s opinion of Klopp helps a summer move for the defender in what could be a real coup.
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