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John Aldridge has told Liverpool that Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite is the best option in the transfer market to solve one of Arne Slot’s biggest ‘dilemmas’.
Liverpool is down to just two fit center-backs at present with Joe Gomez picking up a hamstring injury last time out against West Ham United and Ibrahima Konate last playing for the Reds in November.
It leaves Slot short on options at the heart of defence, although Aldridge feels the most obvious solution can be found on the other side of Stanley Park.
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“My main concern at Liverpool at the moment is at center-half. God forbid something happens to Virgil van Dijk. Joe Gomez is out now for a bit, Ibrahima Konate is still out,” the ex-striker wrote in his weekly column with the Liverpool Echo.
“There is no young kid who is obvious to step up, there’s only Jarell Quansah left. That’s a little worry because Konate is a little injury-prone. Gomez has a tendency to pick up injuries at the wrong moment too. He’s done his hamstring now so you’d imagine that’s him out for four weeks which is a blow.
“I was talking to John Barnes before, it’s tough to improve the squad and bring in the right players in January. It’s never easy, especially in defence and at center-back. You use Manchester United as an example, yet again, the center-halves they’ve brought in, they’re all rubbish! And they paid top dollar to bring in like four center-halves!
“The best one out there for me, who’s got everything, is the right age etc, Everton have got him – young Jarrad Branthwaite. That’s not going to happen for obvious reasons. I don’t know what the manager – not the owners – the manager and his staff are looking at as an insurance policy.
Joe Gomez suffered a first-half injury against West Ham.
“Hopefully it’s not needed, Konate gets back and stays fit all season. But he has a tendency to get injuries. And you’d expect Gomez to miss the whole of January.
“So you look at what alternatives we’ve got, we’ve seen [Wataru] Endo play there. It’s not ideal but he did a good job the other week in the cup. [Ryan] Gravenberch did a really good when he went in there against Fulham, I have to say, but you want to save his legs.
“So it could be a little dilemma for the manager, that one, I think. Let’s just hope Konate is back and you can utilise the three of them, along with Quansah, while Gomez is out – especially with the cup games against Tottenham and Accrington coming up where Slot can play the second-string and hopefully still get through.”