Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool FC to add further defensive reinforcements in January following reports that Virgil van Dijk could be set to miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season with a knee injury that the Dutchman sustained in the 2-2 draw away to Everton on Saturday.
While admitting that the race for the Premier League crown would now be wide open, the ex-Reds centre-back argued that it would become largely difficult for Jurgen Klopp to cope up in the absence of his star defender for the coming months, reports the Daily Mail.
The Liverpool FC old boy added that the defending league champions will have to go into the market in January to sign another first-team centre-back in order to shore up the options at Anfield, which have already been depleted since Dejan Lovren’s exit this summer.
‘I think it blows the title race wide open. I felt at the start of the season that Liverpool were the team to beat and with Van Dijk being out for what looks like the whole season now, I think it’s going to be all on for Liverpool.
‘Liverpool certainly have to go into the market in January, not just because of Van Dijk’s injury. They were weak in that area anyway – they’d lost Lovren before the start of the season – and the other players who are in those positions are very injury-prone.
‘For Liverpool right away it’s: who can we get in? I know the transfer window’s just finished, but they have to be ready in January to bring someone in. It could stop going on to achieve what they want to achieve.’
In Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, Klopp has been left with only two senior centre-backs at the Merseyside club, both of whom are quite injury prone. However, Fabinho has been utilised often in the role of a central defender, and the Liverpool FC boss may be tempted to do so again following Van Dijk’s injury diagnosis turning out to be very bad news for the Champions of England.
