Conor Bradley being ruled out for the season after sustaining a serious knee injury during the 0-0 draw with Arsenal could force Liverpool into the transfer market
Conor Bradley during a Liverpool match
Conor Bradley's injury leaves Liverpool even shorter in defence(Image: PA)
View Image
Liverpool are reportedly not considering Borussia Dortmund right-back Julian Ryerson as a replacement for Conor Bradley. According to Sky Sports, the Reds are urgently assessing various options this winter transfer window.
Barcelona are another club credited with an interest in the Norway international. Links to Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers also linger from the summer.
Daniel Banjaqui, Oscar Mingueza, and Vanderson are other defenders linked to Liverpool since the weekend. Bradley is out for the season after sustaining a serious knee injury during the 0-0 draw with Arsenal and is due to have surgery in the coming days.
The Athletic reports that the club hopes he will recover in time for the start of pre-season this summer. They also claim the club will not make a permanent signing to cover Bradley's absence, but stop short of ruling out a replacement arriving, perhaps on loan.
The same stance is reportedly also applicable to long-term absentees Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni. Leoni is also out for the season after tearing a cruciate ligament in his left knee during the League Cup third-round victory against Southampton at Anfield back in September, while Isak is also out for the foreseeable future with a fractured fibula and injured ankle sustained during the 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Arne Slot spoke at length about Bradley after beating Barnsley. He described the injury as a "big blow" for the team and reflected on the Northern Ireland international's rise over recent years.
Slot said: "First of all, let's talk about him because Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving, and Conor Bradley already replaced him a few times last season really well, and the year before I came, he also had a good spell. He felt, and I felt the same, that this is going to be your time.
"And he missed so many games already because of mainly hamstring issues, and coming back from that and being in a team, progressing, getting better and better, staying fit. Then something like this happens.
"In a season before it started, where he thought: 'This has to be my season' - and I thought the same - to maybe play six, seven or eight games is a big blow for him. And I also think about Northern Ireland trying to reach the World Cup.
"So it is an enormous blow for him, but as a result of that, it is a big blow for us as well. Because I hope you don't think I would like to play Dominik Szoboszlai as a right full-back."
Slot added: "Jeremie Frimpong, he has to play a lot of minutes and has just come back from injury, having missed three or four months and not a lot of playing time. I liked him as well today, by the way.
"But I have to make sure he can play at the weekend, and then we go to Marseille, and then we go to Bournemouth. It is nine games in January with six defenders available, so I have to manage him the right way, and I have to give enormous compliments to the players that are fit that we are 11 games unbeaten."
For the latest Liverpool FC news and breaking news, visitliverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/liverpool-fc. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @LivEchoLFC - the official Liverpool ECHO LFC Twitter account - for all the latest LFC news as it happens in real time. We're also on FaceookLiverpoolEchoLFC - your must-see LFC news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.
Listen to our podcasts by searching for 'Blood Red' wherever you get your podcasts. Sign up for one of the Liverpool Echo's free daily and weekly newsletters on Liverpoolby clicking here.