Liverpool continue to be linked with a host of centre back options ahead of the January transfer window, though one of them had a moment to forget last night.
The Reds have lost Virgil van Dijk for the rest of the season, whilst Joe Gomez’s knee injury means he could miss the majority of the campaign.
Jurgen Klopp and co may now pursue a January addition to ease those defensive woes, and a surprise link emerged over the weekend.
Sportime reported that Liverpool believe Olympiacos defender Ruben Semedo is a player who can provide a stop-gap in Klopp’s back line.
Liverpool will ‘move soon’ according to that report, and are prepared to offer him a five-year contract in a deal worth around €20million (£18million).
That’s a somewhat surprising link; Semedo has rebuilt his career and reputation with Olympiacos, but at 26 he doesn’t fit the usual Liverpool mould.
On Tuesday night, Semedo started for Portugal in their 3-2 win over Croatia, and didn’t really do himself any favours with a big mistake.
At 0-0 in the first half, Semedo mis-kicked a Nikola Vlasic cross, and Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic ended up firing Croatia into the lead.
It was just one moment in the game, and Liverpool’s forensic data analysis means they will look at the whole picture with Semedo, but his error coming just days after those Liverpool links was far from ideal.
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