Liverpool have agreed to sign new CB who could save them millions on Guehi
Liverpool are not the same team that they were last season. Quite literally. Many changes were rung before the 2025/26 campaign, and perhaps Arne Slot and co have bitten off more than they can chew as the Merseyside outfit struggle for fluency and form enough to secure
Forget the Premier League title. Liverpool are not stable enough, and they have too many holes across the backline. Defensively, it’s been a bit of a mess this year.
Liverpool did sign a centre-half last summer. In August, sporting director Richard Hughes wrapped up a £27m deal for Parma prospect Giovanni Leoni. The Italian is billed as one of the most talented young defenders in the world, but he ruptured his ACL on his Reds debut.
Loeni, 19, will be a key asset when he returns, but Liverpool cannot wait for reinforcements at the rear, with plans drawn ahead of the January transfer window, which is now upon us.
The latest on Liverpool's plans to sign a centre-back
Liverpool need a centre-back, with defensive mistakes and a lack of security and composure at the back forming the crux of the Anfield side’s problems.
It was a fantastic summer transfer window, but the failure to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace does appear to have come back to bite an imbalanced and discordant side.
Should Liverpool fail to secure Guehi’s signature at the end of the season (or in January), FSG have drawn plans to land Club Brugge rising star Joel Ordonez, with the Equadorian, 21, touted with a move to Merseyside last month.
Reports even stressed that the Reds are among the frontrunners, with Ordonez even described as “something remarkable” by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
After all, he scrubs up pretty cleanly against Virgil van Dijk; even if they play at different levels, it tells us something of the South American’s potential.
However, Liverpool remain intent on tying the struggling Ibrahima Konate down to a new deal, and with Leoni supposedly good enough to nail down a spot, the Reds may want to hold fire on their transfer plans, especially when one of the most exciting up-and-coming talents has quietly been secured.
Liverpool already have a future defensive superstar
As per transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Liverpool have agreed a deal with Austria Wien for the transfer of 17-year-old defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe at the end of the season.
The Austria youth international is a towering centre-back with a prodigious command of his technical faculties, already described as “one of the most exciting young talents” in his country by scout Jacek Kulig.
While he will be expected to link up with Rob Page’s U21 side, Ndukwe has made the bench on a number of occasions, and Slot has shown that he is willing to give young stars their debuts.
Youngest Liverpool Debutants under Arne Slot
Player
Competition
Age
Rio Ngumoha
FA Cup
16 yrs, 04 mths
Trey Nyoni
Carabao Cup
17 yrs, 04 mths
Trent Kone-Doherty
FA Cup
18 yrs, 07 mths
Giovanni Leoni
Carabao Cup
18 yrs, 09 mths
Amara Nallo
Champions League
18 yrs, 02 mths
Data via Transfermarkt
Hailed by journalist Bence Bocsak for his “really impressive” start to life on the major stage, the 6 foot 6 prospect is endowed with steely, snappy agility and natural prowess in the air.
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While Liverpool won’t want to overburden this young talent, he turns 18 in March and won’t arrive on Merseyside until the summer. And he’s got the right frame of character, having name-checked Van Dijk as his idol during an interview with Austrian television in October, also saying, “in five years I’ll be playing professionally in the Premier League.”
It looks like he’s on the fast-track with that one.
It is hardly out of the question that he could leapfrog a few and emulate Leoni by establishing himself in the senior side next season, perhaps allowin FSG to forget about an equally unpolished talent in Ordonez and maybe even Guehi too.
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