All Liverpool’s centre-back options after Jeremy Jacquet and Joe Gomez’s double injury blow
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Liverpool have form in leaving themselves short at centre-back, and it looks like history could be repeating itself once again, following injuries to both Jeremy Jacquet and Joe Gomez on Saturday.Jacquet had been expected to make his debut during the friendly against Sunderland in Nashville, and there were some raised eyebrows when the Frenchman was omitted from the squad. Iraola sounded less positive on the 29-year-old at full-time, and with Gomez’s chequered fitness in the past, fans are desperate for Liverpool to dip into the market for a new centre-back.
Who would be your choice of centre-back signing for Liverpool this summer? The Reds clearly need to do something after fresh injuries to Jacquet and Gomez Photo Credit: Getty Images/Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC Whether Liverpool agree with that stance remains to be seen, but as they assess which direction to go in, they know they still have some real quality – and some massive potential – to lean on.Giovanni Leoni and Virgil van Dijk are the only ‘senior’ playersJacquet looks likely to be Virgil van Dijk‘s main partner for the season ahead, at least during the early days of it, and his new knock should not change that.Nevertheless, if he is out, and Gomez is down as well, that leaves Iraola with only Van Dijk and Giovanni Leoni to count on.It is worse than that, really, because Leoni is still recovering from his own injury problem, and though he is seemingly close to a return, his level is unknown after one appearance for Liverpool and 10 months out and counting.Photo by Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Youngsters shine and new centre-back needed: Five things learned from Liverpool 4-2 SunderlandThat Van Dijk, Jacquet, Gomez and Leoni are Iraola’s four senior centre-backs heading into the season was causing enough angst as it is, but with three now out injured, and one still on holiday, things are more bleak than first thought.Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye are next upIt was perhaps a nod to the current pecking order that, without Jacquet, Van Dijk and Leoni, Iraola chose to start Mor Talla Ndiaye against Sunderland.The Senegalese did well, and though he is only 18, there is enough to suggest that Liverpool could hand him some minutes here and there during 2026/27.The same can be said of Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who ended up playing 83 minutes on Saturday.
Though they would ideally not want to rely on him for Premier League and more serious Champions League matches, there is a player there, and both he and Ndiaye’s potential may be what stops the Reds dipping into the market.Could anyone else play at centre-back for Liverpool?There was one more centre-back on show on Saturday, as Luke Chambers replaced Ndiaye with the last portion of the game to go. As he scrambles for his Liverpool future, that could be a way into the squad.So, there is perhaps more depth than first meets the eye here, but it means Liverpool relying a lot on young players to step up.