Liverpool MUST sign new defender this month as Joe Gomez injury fears expose huge weakness | OneFootball

Liverpool’s wafer-thin defensive depth has become even more alarming after Joe Gomez was forced off in the first half of their game against Bournemouth – so a late transfer might be necessary.

Gomez started at centre-back against Bournemouth alongside captain Virgil van Dijk. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez played as the full-backs, with Calvin Ramsay and the Tottenham-linked Andy Robertson on the bench. Gomez suffered an injury in the process of Bournemouth’s first goal, which was scored by Evanilson.

With Ibrahima Konate out of the squad due to personal reasons and Giovanni Leoni already out for the season with an ACL injury, Gomez’s replacement (eventually) was Wataru Endo, a midfielder by trade who can also operate at centre-back but has rarely been favoured by Arne Slot.

The extent of Gomez’s injury remains to be seen, but it poses serious questions over whether Liverpool need to act before the January transfer window closes.

They have already missed out on Marc Guehi this month, a target they almost landed from Crystal Palace in the summer but weren’t willing to fork out for in January when Manchester City put a huge package together for his wages.

The feeling has been that Liverpool will keep their powder dry this month, but they may have little choice now if Gomez’s injury keeps him out for a prolonged period of time.

Due to his versatility, Gomez serves as a rotation option at centre-back, right-back or even left-back in an emergency.

Liverpool are light in all of those positions, with Conor Bradley also out for the long-term at right-back and Ramsay not really in contention for meaningful minutes.

At centre-back, Konate will return to the fold at some stage, but it might not be for too long given his contract expires at the end of the season and talks over a renewal have stalled.

For what it’s worth, at left-back, Robertson could leave for Tottenham – although he did come on for Kerkez at half time against Bournemouth – leading to a potential recall for Kostas Tsimikas from his loan spell at Roma.

But in Gomez’s primary two positions, centre-back and right-back, Liverpool will barely have anyone else to turn to if his injury isn’t a minor one.

Liverpool defender signing essential

Even if they have to look at the loan market, Liverpool must now consider reinforcing their defence. It will be tough to get through a spell with only Frimpong at right-back and only Van Dijk and (once ready) Konate as genuine centre-back options.

And that’s before even considering the final result against Bournemouth: a 3-2 defeat. Liverpool looked fragile defensively when they were conceding and did themselves few favours. They need to think fast about reinforcing.

Players like Nico Schlotterbeck have drawn interest as alternatives to Guehi at centre-back. In the long term, Liverpool have been linked with Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven, but he’ll be an expensive target that would be difficult to shift in January.

What emerges about Gomez’s injury and how Liverpool respond could define their second half of the season.