Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes Wolves captain Conor Coady is 'ready-made' to replace Virgil van Dijk.
The Reds confirmed last week that the Dutchman had sustained ACL ligament damage against Everton in the Merseyside derby.
As a result of the injury, the centre-back now faces the prospect of missing a significant chunk of the upcoming campaign.
Van Dijk was forced off injured inside the opening 10 minutes at Goodison Park on Saturday after being on the end of a rash challenge by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Liverpool have since been linked with a host of centre-backs as options to replace Van Dijk with, but Lawrenson has name-checked Coady, who he believes has enough Premier League experience to fill in.
“I would think Virgil will be out for the season," he told The Argus. "I think it’s a write-off because you’ve got to get match fit and that’s almost impossible nowadays because they don’t play reserve team football.
“If Liverpool are going to pay big money for somebody in January, they want absolutely ready-made. Conor Coady has had loads of shouts and he is a very good organiser who has played lots of games in the Premier League."
Coady is a well-known Liverpool fan and came through the youth ranks at Anfield before leaving for Huddersfield Town in 2014.
But the Wolves captain laughed off a question from Jamie Carragher about the prospect of replacing Van Dijk at Liverpool on Monday night.
He said: “I can't believe you have just put this to me here!
“No, not at all. I love playing for this club, we've just beat Leeds in an amazing, amazing game. You know what I am like.”
