Liverpool have had a shaky defense since the past few years and Jurgen Klopp must solve that dilemma this summer by luring top defenders.
The Reds have already agreed (LFC) a deal to sign Joel Matip from Schalke. However, the German manager wants to further reinforce his back line for next season and reports suggest that he is looking to sign a certain Argentine international in the form of River Plate star Gabriel Mercado (Mirror)
The 29-year-old La Albiceleste star is a strong and versatile defender who can play as a full back and also as a central defender.
Mercado has been a key member of the Riverplate side since joining them in 2012 and has won major titles like Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana with the club.
Gabriel made his debut for the national side back in 2010 and has only featured 6 times for the La Albicelese (scored 2 goals). His top performances deservedly earned him a place in the Argentine side for the Copa America where he has impressed so far.
Mercado will probably be a replacement for Kolo Toure at Anfield if he joins. Moreover, he has mainly played as a right back and can operate there in the absence of first choice RB Clyne.
Jurgen Klopp Looking to Sign Strong & Versatile Star
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More interested in a SPECIALIST, and imposing, CB than somebody who can play in a range of positions.
We had Steve Nicol who was the best full-back we ever had, in my opinion, but when they played him at CB he wasn’t anywhere near as good, he wasn’t big enough. LFC seem to have this obsession with buying players to fit in anywhere on the pitch, in a “jack-of-all-trades” way of thinking, but the last bit of that phrase is “master of none”!
SOME versatility is required, obviously, but let’s get some specialist, top players in the most important positions, eh?
Did I see Rio Ferdinand play FB for United? No. Did Bobby Moore play FB for West Ham? No.
Do you not remember Phil Neal, Alex Lindsay or even the ‘stand in’ Tommy Smith playing full back for Liverpool? – I don’t think Steve Nichol was better than any of them.
However, I do agree that it is preferable to have a dedicated centre half like Sammi Hyypia operating there than a convertee.
David, I agree that Phil Neal was superb until he played a few years past his best and Alex Lindsay was exceptional but to suggest Tommy Smith was as good as Steve Nicol, as a full-back, turns your comments into an advert for Specsavers! Sorry, mate, a really good CB but not top notch at full-back. If we went down the list of great LFC players, for every position, I bet my ‘perfect team’ would be different to just about everybody else’s as we’ve all got different favourites . . . but what a list to choose from, eh?
Anyway, glad to see you agree with the notion of specialists, like Hyypia, as opposed to players who can ‘do a job’ in several positions. That, after all, was what I was trying to get across.
Just for fun, my team would be Clemence – Nicol Hansen Lawrenson Hughes – Keegan Souness Gerrard Barnes – Rush Dalglish with Lindsay, Thompson or Hyypia, McDermott, Kennedy, and Hunt and Fowler on the bench. Beat that!
Sorry if I’ve missed any body out . . .