Former Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia says he would be surprised if Arne Slot does not sign a centre-back before the transfer window closes.
The legendary defender also believes the buy-back clause inserted into Jarell Quansah’s contract with Bayer Leverkusen could prove to be a smart piece of business for the Reds.
Quansah, an England Under-21 international, was allowed to join the Bundesliga side in a £35million deal, leaving Liverpool with just three senior centre-backs – Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, and captain Virgil van Dijk.
Gomez was sent home early from the club’s pre-season tour of Asia last week after suffering a minor Achilles issue in Hong Kong.
While Wataru Endo has previously played at centre-back, Arne Slot was forced to deploy midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and left-back Kostas Tsimikas alongside Van Dijk and Konate during each half of Saturday’s 4-2 defeat to AC Milan.
Liverpool are understood to be calm about the situation but have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, whose contract at Selhurst Park expires next summer.
Hyypia, who made 464 appearances for the Reds, believes the club will strengthen before the window shuts.
“I think it is good for Jarell to play every week [at Leverkusen],” Hyypia told the Liverpool Echo.
“He is in that age where he needs to play every week and probably if he stayed here that wouldn’t be possible, so I heard that we have a buy-back clause.
“So when he is playing every week and he develops, I think we can [bring him back]. It would be a good thing to bring him back and he would be a different player.
“When you play every week you somehow create like a bigger confidence as well that when you play here or there and when someone is injured. For younger players that can be a little bit overwhelming and you are trying too hard and you are maybe a little bit too nervous in that situation and you don’t get the level that you can perform.
“So now if one year he plays there every week then maybe we can bring him back. But I guess this summer we still need one centre-back adding, so it will be interesting to see. It is probably [a risk to leave the numbers as they are].
“Me and Carra (Jamie Carragher), we didn’t defend on the halfway line, so we didn’t need to run as much. That was maybe physically easier to play every game but I think the distances we were running were not as high as they are doing now but I think, I would be surprise, if we didn’t sign anyone.
“I think Ibou (Konate) has had his injury problems and I think Joe has had his injury problems as well, so if one of them is injured then we only have two senior centre-backs, so yes, I would be a little bit surprised if we didn’t sign a centre-back.
“I think Van Dijk is the best in the world. He is good on the ball, he can pass it long, he can pass it short and then defending he is so quick that nobody goes past him, he is commanding in the box. I think what I would expect more would be to score more from the set-pieces.
“I would maybe expect even more, him scoring. But he is so big and when he is in his stride, and he jumps, no-one can jump as high as he can. And he is a great leader, he makes everyone around him better as well.”
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