Three defenders Liverpool should target in January

This has been an awful couple of weeks for Liverpool. Merseyside Derby was full of controversies as the game ended 2-2 but the feeling in the red half of Merseyside has been more of a defeat. 

The game's biggest talking point was Everton keeper Jordan Pickford's horror tackle on Virgil van Dijk, which went unpunished because of an offside and Liverpool will be without their pivotal defender for possibly the remainder of the season. 

The 29-year-old suffered the highest severity ligament tear, a complete grade 3 rupture of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a major knee stabilizing ligament. 

Liverpool's hopes of retaining their Premier League title has seen a major blow with the Dutchman likely to miss the rest of the campaign. As of now, the Reds have only two senior center-backs on their books in Joel Matip and Joe Gomez while Fabinho is also capable of deputizing at the heart of the defence.

However, Liverpool's priority for the January transfer window should be pretty clear and that is a central defender. Here, we will discuss three players that the Reds should be looking at once the window reopens. 

Dayot Upamecano - RB Leipzig 

This would be a big statement from the Reds considering Upamecano is one of the most sought after players in the world right now and is regarded as a star for the future. 

The Frenchman has been courted by top clubs in Europe of-late including Manchester United, Arsenal, and Real Madrid but decided to stick to his current employers RB Leipzig. 

He signed a new contract in the summer of 2020, and although the deal does include a release clause of €42 million, that fee will only come into play at the end of the season.

Liverpool might have to spend more than that figure to lure the highly-rated defender to Anfield but it would show that they would do anything and everything to stay at the zenith of English football. 

Milan Skriniar - Inter Milan 

Slovakian international defender Milan Skriniar became a household name in European football in the last couple of years but for some reason, his stock has fallen of late with the Nerazzurri also making it clear that the 25-year-old would be sold for the right price. 

Tottenham Hotspur came close to landing him this summer, and it appeared that Inter were willing to do business for the right price. 

The talented center-back is rated as one of the very best in the world, and he has shown his class in both in a back two and a back three. Pretty young yet experienced and available for the right price, Skriniar would be a perfect addition to the Liverpool side and would certainly improve the Reds both in terms of depth and quality. 

Conor Coady - Wolverhampton Wanderers 

A Liverpool fan through and through and a player who came through the youth ranks of the club, Coady eventually gave up on his dreams to represent Liverpool at the highest level and drop down to Championship back in 2014. 

A decent season for Huddersfield Town saw him seal a move to Wolves in 2015 and the journey since then has been pretty much a fairy-tale. Wolves have made quite a progress over the years and Coady has led them through that success. 

At 27 years of age, Coady could finally see his dream come true if he joins Liverpool and he certainly deserves it. At his peak and putting himself on the international footballing map too, wouldn't it be nice if he made a return to the Reds and carried them to glory?

Featured Image credits - Sky Sports