Liverpool's Defensive Future: Time to Act Now

Liverpool’s defensive future is suddenly on a clock.

Ibrahima Konaté is running his contract down on Merseyside and, as things stand, the France international is heading straight towards free agency. No wriggle room, no obvious late U-turn. When he walks, he leaves a hole right through the spine of Liverpool’s team.

Virgil van Dijk will still be there next season, but only just. The captain has 12 months left on his deal and turns 35 in July. He remains the reference point, the standard-setter, the man who dragged Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory. Yet the question is no longer whether he needs a partner. It’s who eventually replaces him.

Liverpool threw their money at the other end of the pitch in 2025. They broke British transfer records to do it. Alexander Isak arrived to lead the line, Florian Wirtz to thread passes and break games open, Hugo Ekitike to add another layer of attacking threat. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez came in to energise the full-back positions and keep the wide areas humming.

The centre of defence, though, has creaked. In 2026, it cannot be ignored.

Recruitment teams have already started scanning the Premier League for answers. Murillo, the Brazilian lighting up Nottingham Forest’s back line, has pushed his way onto several shortlists with a mix of timing, aggression and composure. Micky van de Ven’s power and raw pace at Tottenham have done the same, even as Spurs fight to stave off relegation.

The idea is clear: proven in England, ready to step straight into a title chase.

Former Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson sees the logic. Speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of BetMGM, he underlined the need for players who already understand the demands of the division.

“Possibly,” he said when asked if Premier League experience should be a priority. “I think it's important with Premier League experience in whatever position they're trying to improve in, because it's not just improving the position, they need to compete with whoever's going to be the league winners.

“It's not as easy as getting someone with that experience, they just need to be good enough. But I definitely feel proven, they haven't got the time to buy a 20-year-old that could be the best player, best centre-back in five years' time or six years' time, they need to start competing now.

“So those two look like the obvious if you had to pick out of the Premier League, but if they're good enough to step up to that level to compete for titles, given the chance, we'll never know.”

The pressure in Johnson’s assessment sits on the word “now”. Liverpool’s rebuild under Arne Slot was never supposed to be a leisurely project. The club spent like a team expecting to stay at the very top. Instead, it finds itself hanging on.

And Johnson believes one signing at the back will not be enough.

“They probably need two,” he admitted when asked if Liverpool should recruit beyond simply replacing Konaté. “But going against what I said just now, one that can step in now that's good enough to compete, and then one that can potentially replace them in three or four years.

“They haven't really done that in the past, but that would be a sensible option for me. That doesn't prove that it works, but they need a centre-half now, and they're going to need to replace another one in a couple of years.”

That is the reality confronting Liverpool’s hierarchy: plan for today, and for the moment Van Dijk finally steps away. One defender to stabilise. Another to grow into the shirt.

The complication? No one quite knows who will be trusted to make those calls.

Slot, a year on from delivering the Premier League title to Anfield, is feeling the heat. The 1-1 draw with Chelsea brought more boos from the stands, a raw soundtrack to a season that has drifted far from expectation. Liverpool cling to fourth place in the table, their grip on a Champions League spot more anxious than assured.

Qualification for Europe’s elite competition remains “on the cards”, but the mood around Anfield tells a different story. Talk of change in the dugout is no longer whispered. It circles over every underwhelming performance, every dropped point, every laboured display from a squad that was meant to be refreshed and ready to go again.

The attack has its marquee names. The full-backs have been retooled. The next phase of Liverpool’s rebuild will be defined by what happens at centre-half – and by who is still in the technical area when those decisions are finally made.