© IMAGO – Virgil van Dijk Richard Hughes Liverpool 2024-25
The Reds have been a hopeless mess at the back at times this season. More leadership is required.
This isn’t to say that Virgil Van Dijk has necessarily done anything wrong in his role as captain, but the players could do with taking more responsibility and being more alert to avoid making errors.
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At times it’s positioning which has cost the team, with set-pieces proving to be more than a thorn in Arne Slot’s side this season – Liverpool are joint worst in the Premier League on that particular metric.
But it’s also just about making the right decision when the opposition has us penned in with a high-press, Ibrahima Konate has been ‘a bit too much at the crime scene’ in key moments in recent times.
A new addition could freshen up the side and keep Liverpool on the right side of the fine margins.
Collins is still on Hughes’ radar
According to Lewis Steele at the Daily Mail, the Reds are still keen admirers of Brentford’s captain.
24-year-old Nathan Collins has been a player on Liverpool’s shortlist for the last six months as a potential defensive recruit, and while the opportunity to sign him was missed last summer, the club might reconsider him in the upcoming January window or next summer when the season concludes.
The Irishman features alongside former Red goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for club and country and he works tirelessly for both teams, covering so much defensive ground as sweeping centre-back.
Across the 22 appearances he’s made for the Bees this season, he’s played 1735 minutes which is an average of 79 minutes on the pitch per game. He’s a huge reason behind them sitting in the top half of the Premier League table, despite losing Thomas Frank, Bryan Mbuemo and Yohan Wissa.
His injury record is particularly impressive – missing just 28 games across the last six seasons – and when you compare it to that of Konate and Joe Gomez at Liverpool, it’s an enormous improvement.
When the Reds were last linked to Collins, he was valued at around £43m and there’s little reason to suggest that he’ll be more expensive now, as he’s generally just stuck to his task and continued his impressive work at Brentford. He’s not what you’d call a ‘flashy’ player. He’s more solid and reliable.
The expectation on Slot’s shoulders will be Champions League qualification at the very least, and Collins would make Liverpool a far more defensively secure outfit if he was signed in the near future.
Since the Reds’ admiration of him is long-standing, there’s reason to suggest this particular transfer link might have more legs than others, especially if Eagles’ captain Marc Guehi doesn’t join the team.
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