Ifeanyi Ndukwe or Mor Talla Ndiaye? Which Liverpool youngster looks more ready to solve Reds defensive crisis

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Liverpool fans are hoping to see a new centre-back partnership blossom this season, with high hopes that Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni can develop together into an impenetrable pairing.However, after Jacquet was ruled out of Saturday’s pre-season win over Sunderland with an unspecified injury, and Leoni continues to recover from his long-term knee issue, Reds supporters were treated to an even younger twosome in Nashville.Mor Talla Ndiaye started alongside Joe Gomez, but after the stand-in Liverpool captain went off inside 10 minutes, fellow 18-year-old Ifeanyi Ndukwe came on to play the rest of the game. The Reds clearly need to do something after fresh injuries to Jacquet and Gomez Photo Credit: Getty Images/Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC With Gomez seemingly set for a spell out, Leoni not yet ready, Jacquet out for the next game and Virgil van Dijk still on holiday, Andoni Iraola is going to need Ndiaye and Ndukwe over the coming weeks and, unless Liverpool do something in the transfer market, during the season as well.But which of the two teenagers looked more ready to make the step up and take his place at No.

At 18, they could yet get even bigger, which is a scary thought for Ndukwe, who already stands at a reported 6 feet 6 inches, and looks every bit of it.At 6 feet 4 inches, Ndiaye is not short either, but while he is the smaller of the two, it was the Senegal U17 star who dominated in the air on Saturday.READ MORE: Youngsters shine and new centre-back needed: Five things learned from Liverpool 4-2 SunderlandImpressively, Ndiaye won each of his two aerial duels against Sunderland, also managing to come out on top in three out of four contested ground duels.Committed and front-footed, though slightly loose on the ball at times, Ndiaye looks like a defender who likes defending, and that can count for a lot.Ndukwe stars with the ball at his feetWhile Ndiaye was winning his battles, Ndukwe was less impressive on that side of things. Ndiaye was no slouch either here, registering a pass accuracy rate of 88% (59 out of 67), and a long-ball success rate of 50% (five out of 10), but this is obviously Ndukwe’s area.The verdict: Ndiaye just edges it… for nowOn paper, you can see what Liverpool’s plan here is, and how these two youngsters can complement each other as centre-backs.Ndiaye is more of a tackler and ball-winner, while Ndukwe brings a little bit more flair with the ball at his feet.

But if Liverpool do choose to rely on Ndukwe and Ndiaye, they may have some worrying moments, but they also may generally be just fine. There’s certainly much more to come from both, and Ndiaye should be just ahead at the moment, but Liverpool have two depth options who they should not be afraid to use.