Liverpool transfer stance on signing a defender after Djed Spence links with four players ruled out

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With only two weeks to go until the start of the new Premier League season, it remains unclear when exactly that might change.Stung by injuries, the Reds are looking rather thin defensively on the eve of the new season.Conor Bradley remains a long-term absentee with a serious knee injury, while Giovanni Leoni is not yet ready to return to team training after injuring his ACL on his Liverpool debut last September.Jeremy Jacquet is yet to feature for his new side as the Reds continue to manage him carefully, with the Frenchman yet to play since dislocating his shoulder for Rennes back in February.Joe Gomez, who has repeatedly been struck down during his Anfield career, will miss the start of the new campaign after suffering a muscle injury only minutes until Liverpool’s opening pre-season friendly against Sunderland during their tour of the United States.With Jeremie Frimpong asking to be taken off in their final friendly against Leeds United, and a now 35-year-old Virgil van Dijk only training with his team-mates for the first time this summer on Wednesday following the Reds’ return from across the pond, supporters can be forgiven for feeling a little twitchy.After all, the memory of seeing all of Jurgen Klopp’s senior centre-backs suffer season-ending injuries before the end of January 2021 to undermine a maiden Premier League title-defence still stings.With Van Dijk likely to make his first appearance of pre-season against Monaco on Sunday, it is curious to see who Iraola will choose to play alongside him - especially in the continued absence of Gomez and Leoni.Liverpool will hope Jacquet is fit in time for the start of the new season. Yet he was once again missing from team training on Wednesday with his lack of game-time far from ideal preparation ahead of a debut Premier League campaign.Regardless, even when Jacquet and Leoni are back fit, it is no easy task awaiting the fledgling pair.

But the sight of either playing in defence would only heighten supporter calls for Liverpool to strengthen defensively.Besides, in the case of the Japanese, he has only just returned to team training after injuring his ankle back in February.The situation at right-back is slightly clearer. Yet his injury record during his first season in England is a concern, while the Netherlands international also struggled for form after signing from Bayer Leverkusen.Calvin Ramsay is an option as cover, but has never played in the Premier League since joining the Reds from Aberdeen in the summer of 2022.Consequently, with Bradley and Gomez sidelined, it did not go unnoticed that Dominik Szoboszlai conceded he might have to become a reluctant makeshift right-back once again when the new campaign gets underway after seeing Frimpong withdrawn against Leeds.“Last season I managed to play a lot of positions.

They have held talks with Paris Saint-Germain for Bradley Barcola, while Ibrahim Mbaye is one of a number of further interesting options to the Reds.Beyond that, if the right opportunity arises to strengthen at the back, there is a willingness to act.But it is understood that Liverpool are not pursuing a move for Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence, with it believed that links to the versatile full-back have stemmed from the player’s camp.A right-sided defender, capable of playing both centre-back and right-back, would perhaps be more of a suitable fit than Spence regardless. Fikayo Tomori, Ezri Konsa and former Reds defender Jarell Quansah would, hypothetically, all tick such a box having themselves been linked with a move to Anfield this summer.The Reds at least have options at left-back, with Kostas Tsimikas now vying with Milos Kerkez following his return from a season-long loan at AS Roma and Andy Robertson’s free transfer to Spurs.But with at least three of Liverpool’s centre-back options already ruled out for the start of the season along with Conor Bradley, they can hardly afford anymore enforced absentees in defence.Anfield clashes with Monaco and Como await before the start of the new season, with the Reds facing the Serie A side twice on the same day with their first encounter taking place behind closed doors.Evidently, all of Iraola’s available defensive options will get game-time over the next fortnight.But whether he has enough bodies available to him to manage the start of the new campaign without further reinforcements remains up for debate.Terrace calls for new recruits will only get louder and louder during the final weeks of the window.Given their depleted options, if the right opportunity does not present itself, Liverpool are playing a risky game.