If Jurgen Klopp could add to any part of his squad at the moment, I’m convinced he would add to his defensive department.

The German coach has watched on as his Liverpool side have faltered without young English stars Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

I’ve never been convinced by Dejan Lovren. Yes the Croatian internationalist can be very strong on occasions but he can also become a liability and sometimes in the biggest of encounters. Against title challengers Manchester City recently, Dejan was at fault for both of City’s goals and that’s allowedthe Premier League champions to close the gap on The Reds.

Joel Matip can do a job in central defence, it’s just that Klopp can’t rely on the twenty-seven year old not to breakdown with yet another injury. The Cameroonian has missed around forty games due to injury issues, since arriving at Anfield in 2016.

Young Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt could be an ideal Liverpool signing in the summer and be a perfect partner playing alongside compatriot Virgil van Dijk.

That’s a view echoed by former Dutch internationalist Rene Van der Gijp (from hitc.com):

“(De Ligt moving to Liverpool) would be great for Dutch football if those guys can play side by side for five to six years,”  

“Then you get one of the best centre-back partnerships in Europe.”

In Van Dijk, Liverpool have a genuine world class centre-back. In De Ligt (if he were to sign) The Reds would be getting a teenage defender well on the way to becoming a world class centre-half.

The nineteen year old has been superb for Ajax this term.

According to Whoscored, Matthijs has a 91.8% passing success rate. The young central defender is also capable of dribbling the ball out of defence. These are both qualities Klopp likes from his defenders and qualities De Ligt shares with Van Dijk.

Matthijs has also been impressive with defensive attributes this term. He leads the way for his team when it comes to winning aerial duels, winning on average around 3.4 per game. He also makes around 3.8 clearances per Eredivisie fixture.

The youngster has also been highly consistent for Ajax in this season’s Champions League.

De Ligt has won thirteen caps for the Dutch national team and he looked particularly good playing beside Virgil for The Netherlands against Portugal last year. Matthijs helped his side keep a cleansheet against the European champions and he also contributed with two assists.

Having the Dutchman in the Liverpool squad would give The Reds a chance to play with three at the back. De Ligt, Van Dijk and Gomez would be a formidable defensive threesome.

The player has already suggested that he needs a new challenge (Source -FourFourTwo):

 “To be honest, we didn’t play at 100 per cent, but we won 7-1. The difference between the sides in the Eredivisie right now is huge.

“The tension is less each time as there’s only two teams who are racking up the points. If we keep winning, it won’t be a problem, but we have to admit that it’s less fun.”

It certainly could be Matthijs de Ligt last season with de Godenzonen. 

Only time will tell if Liverpool will try and capture the teen, But I’m betting other top teams like FC Barcelona, PSG and Manchester City are willing to fight The Reds if the chance arises.

Posted on February 14th, 2019 by scott
Filed under: Article