Liverpool are on a young centre-back shopping spree - here's why
The Reds have already signed three talented defenders in the January window and are eyeing another.
Liverpool may not be planning a widely craved January move for Marc Guehi, but supporters will have noticed that they have still been remarkably active in the centre-back market this month.
The Reds have agreed to sign 17-year-old Austria Wien defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe, who will join up in the summer, and are closing in on a deal to bring in 18-year-old Talla Ndiaye from FC Amite in his native Senegal immediately.
A third centre-half, Noah Adekoya (19), has also joined from Burnley this month, while there is strong interest in Celtic’s Dara Jikiemi (15).
And this flurry of activity begs the question whether this is the execution of a newly formed strategy aimed at stockpiling young defensive talent, or simply coincidence.
In the case of Ndukwe and Ndiaye, the timing is directly linked to the fact that both players were standouts during the U17 World Cup contested in November.
Ndukwe’s Austria made it all the way to the final where they were beaten by Portugal, while Ndiaye and Senegal topped their group before going out in the round of 32.
And both were watched durin the tournament in Qatar by Liverpool’s Matt Newberry, who took on the role of head of global talent just over a year ago having previously served as director of loans and pathways.
His remit is to find the best young players in the world, a standard the aforementioned pair are believed to live up to.
The same is true of Jikiemi, though that move is understood to hang in the balance amid Celtic’s unhappiness over a proposed compensation package.
