A prominent journalist has claimed that one smart solution to the centre-back shortage at Liverpol could be staring them ‘in the face’.
Andoni Iraola has been left in the preposterous predicament of having none of his four senior central defenders currently available to him after Joe Gomez was forced off in the opening minutes of the 4-2 win over Sunderland on Saturday.
Jeremy Jacquet is also nursing a minor injury, while Giovanni Leoni is continuing his recovery from an ACL rupture and Virgil van Dijk is yet to return from his post-World Cup break. It left the teenage duo of Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe as the Reds’ centre-back partnership for the majority of the game in Nashville.
Writing for The Telegraph in the wake of this latest body blow, Dominic King implored Liverpool to consider signing John Stones on a free transfer following his release by Manchester City, similar to how we snapped up James Milner 11 years ago.
He wrote: ‘There is an answer staring Liverpool in the face if they wished to pursue it: John Stones. Some of Liverpool’s best transfers were shrewd and free – think of Gary McAllister and Markus Babbel (2000) and James Milner (2015) – and the England international would tick so many boxes.
‘Apart from vast experience and winner’s pedigree, Stones is a class act professionally and personally. Yes, he has had fitness issues during his own career, but what an addition he would be. Put it another way: if Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus and Bayern Munich are looking at him, shouldn’t Liverpool?
‘Finance would dictate everything, of course, but you would not be bringing him in to use him for the next seven years. Jacquet and Leoni will get an exceptional education learning from Virgil van Dijk, who is in the last year of his deal. Their experience would be enhanced with Stones in the building, too.’
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Liverpool’s transfer dealings are typically centred around long-term investments rather than short-term solutions, but is there logic to considering Stones as a potential addition on a free transfer this summer?
As King says, there’d be plenty of plus points to signing the 32-year-old – an extra option in a problematic position, a wealth of elite trophy-winning experience, a homegrown player and the absence of a transfer fee given his status as a free agent.
Also, similar to Milner, the England defender could potentially be a massively influential figure on a daily basis around the AXA Training Centre in terms of driving standards and imparting priceless advice to his young positional colleagues like Jacquet, Leoni, Ndiaye and Ndukwe.
However, signing Stones mightn’t be all that straightforward even though he’s freely available. He earned £250,000 per week with his most recent contract at Man City, and a similar wage at Liverpool would make him our joint-fourth highest earner (Capology). Would FSG be open to offering him that amount?
Plus, his association with two of the Reds’ biggest rivals (he also played for Everton) could make it difficult for him personally to line out at Anfield, and his own injury record is a worry – he’s missed more than 50 matches in the past two years.
Realistically we don’t envisage LFC trying to bring in the 32-year-old this summer, although the arguments that King presented certainly offer food for thought.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
