Liverpool making calls to seal an even better signing than Adam Wharton

Last season, Liverpool successfully showcased the different elements of style that comprise a title-winning team. Under Arne Slot, they were emphatic, entertaining and efficient.

They won the Premier League with ease. A trip to Ibiza before the 2024/25 season had wrapped up, albeit in celebration for sealing the title nice and early, underscored their dominance.

This year, it’s a different story. There will be no early jaunts for the Anfield side, who are facing a dogfight to retain their Champions League status. Mounting a late-season title charge is laughable.

FSG are reluctant to spend this month, but a lack of defensive depth could force the American owners’ hand.

Liverpool in talks to sign coveted defender

Liverpool are down to the bare bones in defence. Neither Joe Gomez or Ibrahima Konate are available at the moment, while Giovanni Leoni continues to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that will keep him sidelined until next season.

Adding insult to injury, Wellity Lucky has been ruled out for the next few months with a hamstring injury.

Such is the severity of Liverpool’s fitness trouble at the back. There was an opportunity to sign Marc Guehi this month, but he joined Manchester City, with FSG deeming the package prohibitive.

Such is the nature of Liverpool’s owners’ strategy. But with Chelsea pushing to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, surely another top target cannot be allowed to sign for a rival.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have been “calling” for the coveted young defender, ready to battle Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the race.

Jacquet has emerged as one of the most in-demand young defenders on the market, but Chelsea appear to be the frontrunners at this stage, given they are willing to spend within the week. Jacquet is valued at around £60m.

Liverpool want to wait until the end of the season, but you have to wonder whether Slot and co can afford to make do with what they’ve got (which isn’t very much) over the coming months.

Why Jacquet would be the perfect signing for Liverpool

Romano described Jacquet as “one of the most talented defenders in the world”. He’s only 20 years old but has already established himelf in France. Suitors do not iew him as one for the future, but a player who can make an immediate impact.

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Indeed, analyst Ben Mattinson has even gone as far as to claim he has “top-five centre-back in the world potential“. Liverpool need such a player, one who can cement themselves in the Anfield backline for years to come.

Liverpool, after all, have invested nominally at the back over the past eight years or so. Virgil van Dijk changed the game when he slotted into Jurgen Klopp’s team, but Konate being the only impactful investment in the intervening years is an undeniable concern.

While recent rumours have outlined Liverpool interest in Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton, whose ball-playing expertise and intelligence in the engine room could bear dividends for Slot, tunnelling out of the tactical role they have fallen into, signing a defender must still take precedence.

Wharton is an ideal fit for this Liverpool side, but he’s valued at £100m and chased by numerous elite outfits. Moreover, it would prove incredibly difficult to secure his signature before the end of the month.

Even so, it’s pretty clear that Jacquet would be the better signing, even with the financial aspect notwithstanding. Liverpool need to sign a defender, and, echoing Romano, this is one of the most talented in the world.

Likewise, Wharton is one of the most exciting midfielders in England. His long, limber frame is an athletic profile Liverpool already boast through Ryan Gravenberch, and though the Englishman would undoubtedly add flavour to Slot’s midfield fluidity, whether he’d actually be an upgrade on the Dutchman at number six is open to debate.

Jacquet, conversely, could make a significant impact in central defence, adding much-needed depth and, maybe just as importantly, a ball-playing ability that aligns with Slot’s own outlook.

As per FotMob, the Frenchman has won 65.5% of his duels in Ligue 1 this season. He ranks inside the top 15% of positional peers for duels won and chances created per 90.

The elephant in the room: the head coach might be a man on borrowed time. For sure, Slot is skating on thin ice right now, and a lot is required to overturn the malaise that has consumed the fanbase and left some angling for his dismissal.

A lot of the criticism has been overblown. Slot won the title last season, but the credit left in that bank is fast running out, and if Liverpool don’t sort out their defensive problems before the end of the month, he might not even have the tools to keep himself in a job for the remainder of the campaign.

It cannot be overstated how important these next few months are for Liverpool. There’s a club who have reached a critical juncture, and must not tumble back into the Europa League for the second time in four seasons.

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