Liverpool had an entire summer to attend to their defensive frailties and shore up their back line. Klopp’s pursuit of Southampton star Virgil Van Dijk had Liverpool fans hopeful all summer until the Saint’s board came down hard on the Kops and reported them for approaching their player by using unconventional means. The Reds had to stand down. They dropped their pursuit of the player.
When many thought, they would now turn their attention to some other player for sure, Klopp chose to move on and add further firepower to his already loaded attacking cavalry by buying Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah, The Reds failed to make any defensive buys and their current defensive frailties are but exposed. They have shipped in 18 goals in 14 matches including a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The current crop of defenders simply does not look good enough to be guiding a back line for a team that is competing for the ultimate prizes in England and Europe. A new centre-back is the need of the hour and Klopp, despite his stubborn stance that all is fine, will know that unless he shores up that back line, any title his team might want to win is likely to slip away.
With Virgil Van Djik’s stance at Southampton in a very complicated state, Liverpool cannot afford to wait anymore. They must bring in reinforcements in the form of a new player. A new possible signing that has emerged for the Reds is West Bromwich Albion’s on-loan defender Ahmed Hegazi.
The 26-year-old defender is an Egyptian international who plied his trade for Al Ahly last season. This season he has been brought in on loan by the Baggies. He has been impressive in all his outings so far. In the seven appearances he has made, it is reported that he has caught the eyes of the Liverpool boss.
It is now being reported that Klopp has asked his board to follow up on the defender and the board is complying. They have contacted parent club Al Ahly over a possible transfer next summer for the highly rated defender.
If a move is to go through, Liverpool will still be left short on defence this season, something Klopp cannot afford to do. Moreover, Liverpool will want to finalize the deal before the FIFA World Cup at Russia next year. Hegazi is headed for the tournament there next summer and Al Ahly will know a decent run of matches at the world’s biggest football platform will probably double the defender’s transfer value.
