This summer, Liverpool have shown signs that they are looking to progress from a Premier League-winning side to a Champions League-winning side.
They have added players all over the pitch, including Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong, who both bagged their first competitive goals for Liverpool at Wednesday during the FA Community Shield last weekend.
Arne Slot isn't done with signings yet, though, as he appears to still be pushing for Newcastle's Alexander Isak and now England and Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi. The Crystal Palace captain looks likely to move this summer after the club's co-owner and chairman, Steve Parish, admitted that they may have to sell him.
The current valuation for Guehi is £35 million. Slot's summer spending won't be ending there either, as he looks to make Guehi part of a double centre-back transfer plan.
Liverpool in "negotiations" for "really special" Italian talent
As well as Guehi, Slot is looking to bring in 18-year-old Parma centre-back Giovanni Leoni. This news was shared by Fabrizio Romano, who highly rates Leoni and previously described him as "really special".
Parma defender Giovanni Leoni
Romano has revealed that both deals are being worked on, with Guehi being seen as a great signing for now and Leoni as one for the future.
"Liverpool do not see Giovanni Leoni and Marc Guehi necessarily as alternative options. LFC working on both deals for weeks as Leoni’s highly rated for future and Guehi seen as big opportunity: Both negotiations are on."
The young centre-back won't come cheap, as he is currently valued at £34 million, which would make him Parma's third most expensive sale ever, behind Gianlugi Buffon and Hernan Crespo. This price may seem expensive now, but it's reasonable given the longevity of the investment.
Leoni made 17 appearances for Parma last season and even popped up with a goal. His experience in the Serie A could make him valuable in the short term as well as the long term for Liverpool, as Slot currently faces a challenging squad depth situation.
Slot an injury away from trouble
While it has been left as one of the last positions that they will fill this window, the centre-back situation is a much more pressing matter for Liverpool than many fans realise.
Currently, Slot isn't spoiled for options in the centre-back department. His first choices are undoubtedly exceptional, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté. However, after that, their options are Joe Gomez, who missed 28 games last season through injury, and Rhys Williams, who, at 24, has never really been trusted in the first team.
An injury to either of their first two choices would leave them in a precarious predicament. Slot could use a player from another position as a makeshift centre-back in this case, but the more sensible move would be bringing in Guehi or Leoni, preferably both.
Another issue is that Konate only has a year left on his contract and is already being looked at by Real Madrid. Van Dijk recently signed a contract extension, but only for two years, meaning both players days at the club are also numbered.
Liverpool need to bring in centre-backs this summer because their squad depth isn't sufficient for this season, and it will only get worse in the coming transfer windows. As good as the other signings have been, if they fail to sign at least one centre-back, it will be seen as a massive blunder.