Liverpool to sanction centre-back exit, despite defensive crisis: report

Arne Slot scratches his head.

Liverpool could sanction the sale of a defender in January, despite facing fitness issues in their backline.

The Reds were already short after letting Jarell Quansah depart for Bayer Leverkusen, and things got even shakier when new signing Giovanni Leoni suffered an ACL injury on his debut.

That leaves Arne Slot – ranked at no.2 in FourFourTwo's list of the best managers in the world right now – with just three fit, senior centre-backs at his disposal, but the suggestion is the club may be up for letting one of them go.

Liverpool weigh up defensive departure amid injury crisis

Liverpool only have Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate to choose from in terms of fit, senior centre-backs. (Image credit: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

To make matters worse, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch, both midfielders by trade, have faced their own fitness concerns in recent weeks, with the duo having some experience deputising at the back.

Nevertheless, the Merseyside outfit are open to sanctioning the sale of another defender, bringing their sales total to around £200 million for the season.

According to MilanLive, Liverpool are open to letting Joe Gomez transfer to AC Milan if a figure of between €10m-€15m is reached.

Despite the Reds’ woes at the back, the 28-year-old has made just three appearances in all competitions so far, so is seemingly not in Slot’s plans.

The move almost happened in the summer, but Crystal Palace failed to sign Igor from Brighton, which prevented Marc Guehi from moving to Anfield, and consequently, Gomez remained.

Milan are said to remain interested, but Liverpool will only allow a sale if they manage to land a suitable replacement.

The Italian side are exploring a range of options, according to the Italian outlet, but sporting director Igli Tare is believed to be a give fan of the Liverpool man.

Gomez has fallen down the pecking order under Slot, despite a lack of options at the back (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, while selling a defender seems like the last thing Liverpool need to be doing right now, it is clear Gomez is not fancied by Slot.

With a contract running until 2027, they may as well cash in now while there’s interest and use those funds to put towards a player the manager will use – but they must only do so if they land a player ready for senior football, as relying solely on Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate for the entire season would be a huge risk.

Gomez is valued at €18m, according to Transfermarkt. Liverpool next face Frankfurt, when Champions League action returns this week.