Liverpool's Defensive Dilemma: Planning for the Future
Liverpool’s defence is creaking. The clock is ticking.
Ibrahima Konaté is running his contract down on Merseyside and looks on course to walk away for nothing, leaving a gaping hole right at the heart of Arne Slot’s team. At 26, a France international centre-half of his profile does not slip quietly off a squad list. He leaves a problem.
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 standard-bearer, the leader, the man who dragged Liverpool through title races and Champions League nights, yet the reality is unavoidable: the club now has to plan for a future without him at its core.
Last year, Liverpool threw money at the other end of the pitch. British transfer records went, the attack was rebuilt. Alexander Isak arrived, Florian Wirtz too, Hugo Ekitike added more firepower. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez came in to reshape the full-back positions. It was a statement of intent in 2025, a squad remodelled to thrill.
The bill has now landed on the defensive desk.
A back line that once terrified opponents now looks vulnerable, and 2026 is shaping up as the summer when Liverpool must confront that reality. Names from within the Premier League are already circling the rumour mill, and the club’s recruitment department has been watching closely.
Murillo, the Brazilian centre-back lighting up Nottingham Forest, has forced his way onto multiple shortlists with his blend of aggression and composure. Micky van de Ven, all power and pace at Tottenham, is another who fits the profile of a modern Liverpool defender. Spurs may yet survive a relegation scrap, but their resolve over the Dutchman will be tested.
So should Liverpool stay domestic and prioritise Premier League experience? Former Reds full-back Glen Johnson, speaking exclusively to GOAL via BetMGM, believes that matters.
“Possibly. 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,” he said.
The message is blunt: Liverpool do not have time to wait.
“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.”
That is the dilemma. Liverpool have long prided themselves on smart, long-term recruitment, but the situation at centre-back is now pressing enough to force a shift in approach.
Johnson is adamant that one signing alone will not be enough.
“They probably need two, 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.”
One defender for today. One defender for tomorrow. It is a simple idea, but it demands clarity from the top of the club down.
And that is where the uncertainty deepens.
A year on from delivering the Premier League title to Anfield, Slot finds himself under growing scrutiny. The football has stuttered, the aura has faded, and the mood around the stadium has turned. During the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, boos drifted down from the stands again as Liverpool clung desperately to fourth place.
Champions League qualification remains within reach, but it feels more like a requirement than an achievement for a club that framed this season as a defence of its crown. The 2025-26 campaign has fallen well short of expectations, and with that underperformance comes the inevitable question: who will be trusted to oversee the next rebuild?
Because this summer is not just about replacing Konaté or finding the heir to Van Dijk. It is about deciding who shapes the next version of Liverpool’s defence, and by extension, the next version of Liverpool itself.
