Anfield Watch
·17 October 2025
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Yahoo sportsAnfield Watch
·17 October 2025
Liverpool are destined for a centre-back rebuild in transfer windows upcoming.
Arguably, that process began last summer when the club swapped Jarell Quansah for Giovanni Leoni. Quansah, 22, left his boyhood club for Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth over £30m while 18-year-old Leoni was signed from Parma for an initial £26m.
But the club’s sporting director Richard Hughes isn’t stopping there.
Although the Premier League champions were frustrated in their attempts to bring in Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day, there remains a pressing need to add to the ranks in the central defensive department.
Leoni is injured and not expected to play again for a year following a torn ACL while Ibrahima Konate is out of contract in 2026.
With Virgil van Dijk’s terms expiring just one year later - and Joe Gomez’s future uncertain, it’s no secret that the Anfield club’s recruiters are looking at centre-backs.
One option who could emerge in January is England under-21 hero Charlie Cresswell. He managed only 10 appearances for original club Leeds United before growing frustrated at the lack of first-team football coming his way.
Cresswell decided to leave England for Toulouse in Ligue 1 in summer 2024 - signing on for only £2.5m.
It’s proven to be an inspired bit of business on the part of Toulouse - who have been rewarded with consistently high performances from Cresswell.
The 23-year-old has now been looked at by most of the Premier League’s top clubs - and could be available for as little as £15m in January.
That’s according to a new report in TBR Football, which claims Cresswell could already be set to return to the Premier League.
“One of England’s Under-21 summer heroes Charlie Cresswell could be heading home this January,” the report reads.
“Cresswell could be available for around £15 million, which would not be an issue for any Premier League club.
“Liverpool, Manchester City, Everton, Brentford, Brighton, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and West Ham have all scouted him.”
Cresswell, under contract with Toulouse until 2028, has played 41 times in total for his new side - scoring five times.
He can count himself a UEFA Euro under-21 champion alongside the likes of Quansah, Harvey Elliott and Tyler Morton - who all left Liverpool last summer.
In fact, along with Elliott, he is now a two-time successive European champion having also won the tournament back in 2023.