With Mamadou Sakho, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez injured, Liverpool are light on central defensive cover, and new reports suggest that Jurgen Klopp is set to dip into the transfer market for a short-term backup.
According to the BBC:
"Liverpool are closing in on a deal to sign Augsburg central defender Ragnar Klavan for a fee of £4.2m [who] would act as cover for Mamadou Sakho".
In my view, this is a retrograde step for Klavan:
* Why sign another defender when Liverpool have Lucas, Ilori, Wisdom, and even Emre Can available to cover (if necessary).
* Klopp did the same thing last season with Steven Caulker, and that turned out to be an absolute disaster, mainly because Liverpool's central defender injury crisis subsided very soon after he signed.
* The same will probably happen with Klavan. He'll sign, and then one week into the season, Sakho will return, and he'll barely get a look-in for the rest of the year.
* It'll be even worse this season as the Reds only have one game a week for the first few months of the season, and once Klopp selects his first choice partnership (probably Lovren and Matip), he'll stick with it as much as possible.
* Additionally, there will be at least three international breaks between August and December, which gives Sakho et al plenty of time to recover.
Klavan is an everpresent for Augsburg, so why give up regular playing time to become a bench-bound stopgap? It makes no sense to me, but money talks, and maybe he'll be happy to collect a big salary for the privilege of being a perpetual sub.
On a different note: Klavan has 108 caps for Estonia, and is a three-time winner of the nation's 'Player of the Year' award. Clearly, Klavan has great pedigree, and according to his agent, he 'dreams' of playing in the Premier League.
If Liverpool sign Klavan, does he have any chance of permanently ousting Lovren or Sakho?
^ Nicknamed 'Iron Man' in Estonia
According to the BBC:
"Liverpool are closing in on a deal to sign Augsburg central defender Ragnar Klavan for a fee of £4.2m [who] would act as cover for Mamadou Sakho".
In my view, this is a retrograde step for Klavan:
* Why sign another defender when Liverpool have Lucas, Ilori, Wisdom, and even Emre Can available to cover (if necessary).
* Klopp did the same thing last season with Steven Caulker, and that turned out to be an absolute disaster, mainly because Liverpool's central defender injury crisis subsided very soon after he signed.
* The same will probably happen with Klavan. He'll sign, and then one week into the season, Sakho will return, and he'll barely get a look-in for the rest of the year.
* It'll be even worse this season as the Reds only have one game a week for the first few months of the season, and once Klopp selects his first choice partnership (probably Lovren and Matip), he'll stick with it as much as possible.
* Additionally, there will be at least three international breaks between August and December, which gives Sakho et al plenty of time to recover.
Klavan is an everpresent for Augsburg, so why give up regular playing time to become a bench-bound stopgap? It makes no sense to me, but money talks, and maybe he'll be happy to collect a big salary for the privilege of being a perpetual sub.
On a different note: Klavan has 108 caps for Estonia, and is a three-time winner of the nation's 'Player of the Year' award. Clearly, Klavan has great pedigree, and according to his agent, he 'dreams' of playing in the Premier League.
If Liverpool sign Klavan, does he have any chance of permanently ousting Lovren or Sakho?
^ Nicknamed 'Iron Man' in Estonia
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