Transfer insider: Liverpool could rival Man Utd in chase for award-winning centre-back prodigy | OneFootball

Liverpool and Manchester United do battle on the pitch this weekend at Anfield, and the northwestern rivals could also face off in the pursuit of a prodigious European centre-back.

The Premier League champions have been linked with numerous defenders in recent weeks after the ACL injury to Giovanni Leoni left Arne Slot worryingly light on options in that part of the squad, with ongoing uncertainty over Ibrahima Konate’s future also not helping matters.

Marc Guehi remains the standout centre-back target, with Nico Schlotterbeck also becoming linked with increasing intensity of late, although some less familiar names appear to be on Richard Hughes’ radar as well.

Liverpool set to rival Man United for Taras Mykhavko

As per TBR Football (via CaughtOffside), transfer insider Graeme Bailey said that Liverpool ‘are working on a number of options’ in terms of potential defensive recruitment, and he namechecked Dynamo Kyiv youngster Taras Mykhavko.

The Reds are expected to rival Man United in the pursuit of the 20-year-old’s signature, having been impressed by his performances in Ukraine, where he won the top-flight title last season and also scooped the division’s Young Player of the Year award.

It’s added that Anfield chiefs ‘have taken note of how well players from Eastern Europe settle into English football’ and are convinced that the defender is ready to make waves in the Premier League.

(Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Could Mykhavko be an astute left-field swoop for Liverpool?

At just 20, Mykhavko has already accrued 61 appearances for Dynamo Kyiv’s first team, and he recently played against English opposition when his side faced Crystal Palace in the Conference League, although he was forced off with injury in the first half that night.

A scout report from Total Football Analysis describes him as a ‘diversely skilled defender’ who can play as the left-sided centre-back in a defensive four and is also comfortable in a three-at-the-back setup, while Tribuna noted his ‘maturity, strong positioning and ability to play out from the back’.

He mightn’t be a household name like Guehi or Schlotterbeck, but the Ukrainian could represent an astute, up-and-coming target similar to Leoni before the latter joined Liverpool in August.

The step up to the upper echelons of the Premier League would be a sizeable one, with the greatest of respect to Dynamo Kyiv, but if Anfield chiefs believe that Mykhavko has what it takes to succeed in England, his ceiling is evidently a very high one.

The Reds have only had one previous player from Ukraine in their first team – Andriy Voronin had a limited impact during his time on Merseyside – but hopefully the young defender can catapult himself onto the global stage if he makes the move to L4 in the near future.

You can watch Slot’s full pre-Manchester United press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: