Liverpool to step up chase for £52m Van Dijk replacement
Liverpool are facing uncertainty in the centre-back department. Although the club have secured the signing of Jeremy Jacquet - and will welcome back Giovanni Leoni from injury - for next season there ...
Liverpool to step up chase for £52m Van Dijk replacement Liverpool are facing uncertainty in the centre-back department. Although the club have secured the signing of Jeremy Jacquet - and will welcome back Giovanni Leoni from injury - for next season there is still a need to add quality and numbers in the sector. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are out of contract in 2027 and it would be no surprise to see the England international sold this summer.
Factor in a contract complication for Ibrahima Konate - who still hasn’t renewed his deal - and you come to realise why Richard Hughes could be prioritising a centre-back arrival. Liverpool looking at Gonçalo Inácio One name on the radar is Portugal international Gonçalo Inácio, 24. The Sporting CP defender is reported to have a very reasonable €60m release clause in his contract - which is due to run until 2030.
Liverpool are strong admirers of the left-footer - according to a new repor t in Football Insider - and have been tipped to take him to Anfield this summer. With Van Dijk approaching the end of his Merseyside stay a left-footed centre-back option is a necessity - especially before 2027. - allowing him to settle in for a year before taking over from the Dutchman.
“Liverpool are also admirers of Inacio, who is a left-sided centre-back,” the report reads. “There aren’t many top ones available, but he is one of them, for sure. “They’re going to have to replace Virgil van Dijk sooner rather than later, you would imagine, and Inacio could be an ideal replacement for him, as he can play on the left side of that central defence.