Liverpool's Centre-Back Crisis Ahead of New Season

Andoni Iraola heads into the new Premier League season with a squad that looks worryingly thin in key areas, and nowhere is that more stark than at the heart of his defence.

Centre-back crisis before a ball is kicked

Liverpool open their campaign away at Newcastle next weekend, yet as things stand Virgil van Dijk is the only fully fit senior centre-back available.

New signing Jacquet has barely been seen. The £60million defender missed the recent 3-2 defeat to Monaco with an unspecified issue and has not featured at all in pre-season, his start at the club slowed after his final year at Rennes was cut short by a shoulder injury.

There is at least a glimmer of progress. Jacquet has returned to full training and is handed a start against Como, but Iraola is treading carefully with a player expected to be a cornerstone of his back line.

The caution has already driven action in the market. Ronald Araujo has arrived on loan from Barcelona, the Uruguay international adding much-needed pedigree and presence. For now, he begins on the bench, another sign of a manager trying to manage minutes as much as he manages a mounting injury list.

Injuries, exits and a reshaped back line

Behind Van Dijk and the two newcomers, the options thin out quickly.

Giovanni Leoni is still working his way back from the ACL injury that wrecked his debut a year ago. Joe Gomez, who had hoped to stake his claim this summer, limped off during the 4-2 win over Sunderland in the USA last month with a muscle problem. He was replaced that day by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe, and the setback is now expected to derail Gomez’s start to the season.

On top of the injuries, Iraola has had to absorb a major departure. Ibrahima Konate left on a free transfer when his contract expired and has since joined Real Madrid, stripping away another established option from the centre of defence.

For a manager known for front-foot, aggressive football, the picture behind his midfield is anything but secure.

Midfield knocks and late returns

The problems are not confined to the back line. Curtis Jones has been dealing with a hip issue at the same time as transfer links swirl around him, with Inter Milan circling. He returned to training this week after missing the Monaco defeat, but is left out again here as Liverpool weigh risk against reward in pre-season.

Victor Munoz and Alexis Mac Allister are at least back in the building after their post-World Cup breaks. Both eased their way in with Liverpool’s second string during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Como on Sunday, a 70-minute workout at the training ground that finished goalless.

Munoz has done enough to make the bench for the second meeting with the Italian side at Anfield and will be hoping for more than a cameo this time.

The season starts at St James’ Park in a matter of days. Iraola has his style, his ideas, and now, thanks to a bruising pre-season, a simple question: can this patched-up squad hold together long enough for his plan to take shape?