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Liverpool’s scramble for a centre-back in January was certainly well broadcast following injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.
Eventually, Michael Edwards managed to get two defenders through the door in the form of Ozan Kabak of Schalke 04 and Preston North End’s Ben Davies.
The two have had completely differing fortunes at Anfield; the former establishing himself in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI but the latter having not yet been afforded even a minute of first-team action.
Which centre-back should Liverpool sign?
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Kalidou Koulibaly
Samuel Umtiti
Meanwhile, the club could reflect on another failed transfer bid for SC Braga’s David Carmo.
According to the Portuguese club’s President António Salvador, the 21-year-old was almost a Liverpool player, apparently having “a foot and a half in Liverpool”.
Despite the youngster having sustained serious injury in the time since, the £7.65m-rated defender could certainly have been a useful addition.
Even in his tender years, Carmo has already managed to accumulate plenty of experience in his home country having made 40 appearances for Braga in all competitions which includes back-to-back seasons in the UEFA Europa League.
Whilst that is not comparable to Kabak’s 89 appearances in all competitions at the same age, it could be argued that the Portuguese has outperformed his opposite number so far this campaign.
According to WhoScored, Carmo has made more interceptions and blocks per game compared to Kabak this season; 1.6 and 0.6 to 1.3 and 0.3. Meanwhile, the two players are also even on clearances.
The current Liverpool defender can only just outperform Carmo in tackles, with him edging ahead on just 1.8 compared to 1.6.
Surprisingly, Reds’ stalwart Van Dijk cannot get anywhere near those numbers, only managing to overcome the Portuguese on clearances, even during his peak of the 2019/20 campaign.
So with Liverpool having had defensive issues this season, Edwards should be regretting the failed move for Carmo, he’d have surely been a better option than Davies, who hasn’t been able to even get on the field for the Reds.
Had he been signed and given time to develop, he could have had the chance to become a Liverpool stalwart like Van Dijk, but alas, that wasn’t to be and as such, the Reds missed out on a very, very good player.
AND in more news, take a look at Liverpool fans’ thoughts on the failed European Super League…
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