Arne Slot has made plenty of additions to his Liverpool squad this summer but there are still questions over whether the Reds boss will move for Marc Guehi or another centre-back
Arne Slot insists his Liverpool squad has plenty of options at centre-back, even if some of those players aren’t specialists in the position. His comments came ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield against Crystal Palace, where Marc Guehi will be able to provide a reminder of what he could offer the Reds.
Liverpool have seen two bids for Guehi rejected and – for now at least – have no plans to return with a third. However, their options at the back appear rather limited from the outside.
They have three senior specialist centre-backs – Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and the currently injured Joe Gomez. Captain Van Dijk signed a contract extension at the tail end of last season, keeping him at the club until 2027, but Konate’s current deal only runs until the end of the current campaign.
During pre-season, the likes of Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Andy Robertson have filled in at centre-back, with Slot confident of their abilities. “They can definitely play there as well and you forget Joe Gomez,” the Dutchman said.
“Unfortunately he [Gomez] has a minor injury at the moment but he will be back with the team soon. I’m really happy with the players we are having and we have numerous players who can play in the position.”
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Those stand-in centre-backs aren’t the only players able to do more than one job at Anfield. New right-back Jeremie Frimpong got minutes on the wing for old employers Bayer Leverkusen and Slot foresees him as an option there when Mohamed Salah heads off to the Africa Cup of Nations midway through the season.
“We definitely thought about AFCON. It’s partly why we brought in Frimpong because he can play as a right-winger,” Slot told reporters. “A maximum six games without Mo, but that’s a lot in the Premier League. Jeremie can play there but he isn’t the only option.”
Palace captain Guehi was also looked at by Newcastle last summer, but the Magpies have moved onto other targets such as Malick Thiaw. Guehi was one of three centre-backs to start for Oliver Glasner’s side in a 3-1 win over Augsburg last Friday, and is expected to be involved on Sunday.
The match will be Palace’s first return to Wembley since winning the FA Cup there back in May, and Guehi’s fellow centre-back Maxence Lacroix still watches the game back to relive the highs. “This type of emotion… you don’t have it every day,” he told club media.
“It’s like time stops. I watch the game back on YouTube and when you watch it again, you’re like, ‘No, it’s not possible. We’re going to win!'”
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