One of Andoni Iraola’s coaching staff at Liverpool was compelled to partake in training sessions during the pre-season tour to the United States due to a lack of playing numbers.
The shortage of first-team defenders during the two-week camp was well-documented, with Virgil van Dijk not travelling after his World Cup involvement, Jeremy Jacquet nursing an injury concern, Giovanni Leoni still recovering from an ACL rupture and Joe Gomez being forced off early in the first friendly against Sunderland.
It left the head coach needing to deploy youngsters such as Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Luke Chambers at centre-backs in recent games, and while each of those stepped up commendably, it was far from an ideal situation for the Reds.
An in-depth report on the tour by Lewis Steele for the Daily Mail highlighted just how sparse Liverpool’s defensive options have been.
The journalist wrote that Tommy Elphick – a centre-back during his playing career, and now a member of Iraola’s coaching staff at Anfield – joined in some training sessions in the U.S. in order to make up the numbers, such was the shortage of defenders available.
The ex-Bournemouth and Aston Villa player, along with fellow new LFC coach Shaun Cooper, has already become a ‘well-liked’ figure among the Merseysiders’ squad.
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Iraola will be highly appreciative of his right-hand man partaking in training to compensate for the absences of multiple defenders, but that peculiar sight must surely set alarm bells ringing in the offices of FSG.
Having one or two centre-backs unavailable is plausible – being without all four senior options in that role less than three weeks out from the start of the Premier League season is where the line into farce territory is crossed.
That makes it all the more baffling that, as claimed by Sky Sports’ Mark McAdam, Liverpool don’t intend to enter the transfer market this month and will instead wait for their current centre-back quota to be replenished.
Just a little reminder to FSG in case they need it – the legendary Van Dijk is now 35 and has played a lot of football over the past year; Leoni has been out for nearly an entire year after his ACL heartbreak; Jacquet missed three months of last season with a shoulder injury; Gomez has had multiple injuries throughout his time at Anfield.
At this rate, we could viably see someone like Ndiaye fast-tracked into the first team over the next few months in the same way that Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams were during the 2020/21 campaign. Ndukwe would probably be the same, except he doesn’t qualify for a UK work permit and is set to be loaned overseas as a result.
Richard Hughes has four weeks to ensure that Iraola isn’t left terribly short of centre-back options for the upcoming season. If the sight of Elphick feeling compelled to plug the gaps in training doesn’t jolt the sporting director into action this month, then what will?
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Well I agree with these comments – Sky Sports lets hope are full of it…by my reckoning we need to buy 6/7 and sell maybe 4-6… Buy a right back; buy a left back, buy a true number 6; buy a right winger to replace Mo (not Barcola)l buy a right winger; buy a left winger! Sell Frimpong; Tsimikas; McAllister; Gapko; Chiesa. Now of course we can have into the first squad Nyoni and Ngumoha (and maybe one or two more/but these are back up players because of their experience/age – nt to say maybe Nyoni and Ngumoha can be looked upon as first starters/that is up to Iraola…what is concerning also is that after this window Edwards and Hughes are gone…so I just hope they deliver what LC need before they go! YNWA.
You are not serious, did you know that frimpong is a midfielder are he is trying at the right back he is ranked no. 8 best rb in the world and we should sell him diaz has not replaced, jota,salah,konate, we should not selling gakpo, becasue how will sell diaz,gakpo is ranked 4 left winger in the world and you are saying thrash YNWA SALAH JR
Can’t see us selling Frimpong yet. Looks like Jones will go. I would sell Chiesa, Elliot, Koumas, Mc Connell, Gakpo (only if we bring in Barcola and we are getting a right winger), Jones and Tsmiskas. I am in two minds with Mac Allister. If we sold all the above, surely it would go a long away to bringing in a RW, CB, LB, RB and midfielder. The Barcola money should be separate. I would have sold Gomez as well
We need reinforcements – NOW.
If Liverpool football club was completely skint and we had owners who were bankrupt I could understand it.
FSG are worth 7 billion, last season Liverpool football club made more money than any other premier league club record revenues of 700 million. FSG are in advanced talks over a 325 million deal to be the first premier league club to be the first to have a permanent retail store. No doubt this will make FSG more millions in profits.
If you don’t invest on the pitch, which is the most important part of a football club you will go backwards.
I find it embarrassing that one of the coaching staff has to play central defence because we don’t have enough players. Where are we going under charlatan owners FSG, that’s the question? if I was van dijk, who’s been a great player, who’s club captain, I would walk away, leave the club. It’s an insult to him to leave the defence in such a complete shambles. He’s been lumbered to hold the back line together with kids and midfield players.
No Ambition whatsoever, just take the champions league revenues and watch Liverpool sink into oblivion.
We need two right wingers – Rayan and Minteh – and we need defenders
We all know the positions that need strengthening. What’s mystifying is how little action there’s been to date in addressing these areas in the transfer market. Are we to live in hope of a deluge of signings at the eleventh hour? Amazing way to manage a transfer window!
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