Liverpool have already lost experienced players in the form of Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Adrian this summer. Now, they are open to offloading another key member of the squad in the form of Joe Gomez.
The England international is versatile talent, who has featured for us in every position in the backline, but under the management of Arne Slot, he is the last central defender in the pecking order and the Reds are willing to sell him for a fee of around £40m.
As per The Athletic, Aston Villa are interested in luring the 27-year-old defender, who will not give up Champions League football if he moves to Villa Park.
David Lynch has recently revealed that if the Merseysiders end up selling the former Charlton player this summer, then they will definitely move to sign a replacement before the closure of the transfer window.
Who’ll be the one to take the place of Joe Gomez at Anfield?
The CB Liverpool Must Sign
In our view, Liverpool have to splash the cash to sign Goncalo Inacio should they end up offloading Joe Gomez. In fact, they must sign him even if they do not sell the Three Lions star.
Virgil van Dijk has been the leader of the backline at Anfield since 2018, but he turned 33 last month and has less than a year left on his contract.
Even if Liverpool offer him an extension, sooner rather than later, they will have to sign a long term replacement and that is where Inacio comes in.
The Portuguese international has been linked with the Reds, who have been searching for a left sided center back, for a very long time and even this summer, the rumors have been consistent.
Reports in Portugal have indicated that Liverpool are set to move for Inacio who can now be secured for a fee of just £38m.
The youngster was top class at the back for Sporting CP last term. He made 32 appearances in the Liga Nos and helped Amorim’s team keep 16 clean sheets on their way to winning the title.
Amorim has deployed a possession based system at the Lisbon club and Slot, although has a different formation, is also implementing a possession based style at Liverpool. In such a scenario, Inacio would be perfect as he is comfortable on the ball and has the quality to distribute it between the lines.
The versatile player, who can also feature in the left back role, has played over 170 senior games for the Lions and will come with ample experience should the 19-time English champions move to sign him.
Inacio is 6 ft 1, he is not the tallest defender around but still a threat in the attacking third as he has netted 16 goals and registered 9 assists so far for Sporting CP. On the other hand, Gomez may end up leaving Liverpool without scoring a single goal in over 200 appearances.
Not to forget, Man Utd agreed a deal worth £58.9m for an unproven Leny Yoro and paid over £43m to land Matthijs de Ligt to improve their central defense.
Inacio is available for a discounted fee of £38m and Liverpool must not let the opportunity pass by as he is the one who can become the leader of the defense for years after Van Dijk.
