Liverpool have reportedly identified their long-term Virgil van Dijk replacement
Liverpool were one of the Premier League’s quietest teams in the summer transfer market as the club chose not to embark on a rebuilding process at the end of the Jurgen Klopp era.
Arne Slot was the new man in and he will have just one new face in his squad this season, after Italian forward Federico Chiesa joined in a deal from Juventus, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will spend the season on loan back at Valencia before linking up next season.
While that indicates that Slot and new sporting director Richard Hughes are largely happy with the squad that they have inherited, the club does have some key personnel decisions coming up.
Arne Slot made just two additions to his squad this summer (Image credit: Getty Images)
Influential Reds trio Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all now in the final 12 months of their contracts at Anfield, meaning new deals - or replacements - are a priority.
Liverpool skipper Van Dijk is the oldest of that pair at 33 and the club will know that a long-term successor to the Dutchman is needed. And according to German outlet SportBild, the Reds have identified Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah as that player.
VIDEO Why Lee Carsley Might Fix England
The centre-back is also in his final year of his contract and has previously said he does not intend to put pen to paper on a new deal with the German champions following links to Bayern Munich over the summer.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
While Leverkusen will try again to convince the 28-year-old to stay, as things stand, he will be a free agent at the end of the season. The report adds that Tah is no longer a target of Bayern Munich and that the player himself wants to move to the Premier League.
That has seen the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United also express their interest in the defender, as have Barcelona.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, a Liverpool move for Tah, who is rated at €30million by Transfermarkt, makes sense. The timing could end up working very well for the Reds, as being able to find Van Dijk’s long-term replacement without having to shell out a mammoth transfer fee would be excellent news for the club, who would be able to begin talks over a deal in January, should he continue to rebuff Leverkusen's contract talks.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
