With the January transfer window now open, Liverpool have little excuse not to go out and sign a new centre-back.
The Reds have been woefully short in the middle of defence all season long, relying on Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk to start every single Premier League and Champions League game.
By some small miracle, Konate has stayed fit. The Frenchman’s notoriously shaky injury record has somehow been kept at bay and he has been able to turn out regularly for Liverpool.
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Florian Wirtz applauds after Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Deutsche Bank Park (Credit: Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke Cody Gakpo pictured in action during Liverpool's Premier League match against Leeds United at Elland Road (Credit: Getty Images/Molly Darlington).
Phot credit: Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Molly Darlington
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While his fitness has been maintained, though, Konate’s form has not. The 26-year-old has been giving Arne Slot all sorts of issues after crucial mistakes become a regular occurrence.
Thankfully, Konate has improved in recent weeks, but as Liverpool head into a New Year’s Day fixture with Leeds United at Anfield, their No. 5 may be about to hand them a new issue: suspension.
Ibrahima Konate is walking a yellow card tight-rope
Had Konate picked up his usual injury this winter, things could have quickly unravelled for Liverpool. Joe Gomez is the only natural alternative and the No. 2 has been struggling himself.
Currently, Gomez is out injured, and with Wataru Endo also unavailable, Slot has virtually no replacement for Konate.
Ibrahima Konate points during Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven at Anfield
Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images
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That could soon become a problem, because as Liverpoolfc.com confirm, Konate is one yellow card away from a one-match Premier League suspension.
The fixture against Leeds is the final game in which a fifth booking of the season would mean an automatic suspension.
As a result, Konate badly needs to avoid anything needless on Thursday. A yellow card would see him miss Sunday’s trip to Fulham, laying bare just how brittle Liverpool’s options at centre-back truly are.
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Liverpool's lineup vs Leeds
Liverpool’s lineup vs Leeds
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Who could play at centre-back if Konate is suspended?
Regardless of whether Konate does earn himself a suspension, the New Year may expose Liverpool’s fragile defence anyway. Three games in eight days will put strain on the former Leipzig man and could lead to a fitness issue.
But if he misses the Fulham match, Slot really is running low on players who could step in.
Gomez and Endo are both very unlikely to be fit again, meaning the Liverpool head coach can either move Ryan Gravenberch back into defence, use Andy Robertson as an auxiliary centre-back, or lean on a youngster such as Wellity Lucky.
All options come fraught with knock-on complications in what has traditionally been a tough away fixture for Liverpool.
Of course, the Reds could surprise everyone and bring a new centre-back through the door before then. That is the best case scenario, but in the unlikely event of that happening, Liverpool may be about to be shown just how badly they need it.
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