Liverpool fell to a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan in Hong Kong today.

It was an exciting game in the first half with end to end action that saw the sides go in at 1-1.

After heavy rotations during the break, there was less excitement in the second half, as AC Milan sat deep and caught Liverpool on the counter-attack.

Just a pre-season opener of course that means close to nothing, but there was a glaringly obvious problem that Liverpool may need to address before the start of the new season.

Hugo Ekitike Attends Liverpool’s Open Training Session | Pre-Season Tour Vlog – DAY 3 | Hong Kong	PL pre-season fixtures: Liverpool face AC Milan in Hong Kong today	Liverpool hit for four by counter-attacking Milan in Hong Kong defeat

Jarell Quansah left the Reds on a permanent deal earlier this window as he switched Merseyside for Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £35million.

In losing Quansah, Liverpool lost a talented young centre-back who was more than able to fill in for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate whenever called upon as he was very rarely injured.

The same cannot be said for Joe Gomez.

Joe Gomez has suffered another injury as he has left Liverpool’s pre-season Asia tour to return to Liverpool to begin rehabilitation on an Achilles injury he has picked up.

Limited to just one competitive appearance all year, the club simply cannot rely on Gomez to be available when others are not.

He has an injury record that has seriously hampered his decade-long stay at the club.

With Joe Gomez now out injured for the foreseeable future, that leaves Liverpool with just two fit senior centre-backs, and this is where the problem could become much greater during more important parts of the season.

If Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate were to get injured or be out of action for any prolonged amount of time, Liverpool will have to call upon academy graduates or even full-backs to cover in their place.

A situation that Arne Slot will find far from ideal as he looks to defend the Premier League title.

The Alexander Isak to Liverpool links have been getting all the traction recently, but links to Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi have gone quiet.

After reports last month surfaced that the English international was open to the move, little has come of it since as Liverpool haver prioritised attacking reinforcements.

That is understandable given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez but a centre-back addition this summer should also be a priority for Liverpool.

Ian Doyle reveals how he doesn’t believe Alexander Isak is a priority for Liverpool.

Instead, Liverpool remain keen on Marc Guehi, who is in the last year of his contract with Crystal Palace, but they have been waiting for the right moment to strike when it comes to that deal.

Any potential deal for Guehi may now have to accelerate given the injury to Joe Gomez and the departure of Jarell Quansah.

Liverpool focused on signing Hugo Ekitike, meaning they will be covered going into next season, however they do not currently have the depth at centre-back that the new Premier League champions would want.

There is still a lot of time left in the summer transfer window, and there is still more than enough room to sort out Liverpool’s problems, but this has been bubbling away underneath the surface for a while now – Liverpool need a new centre-back!

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