26 Jul 2026 07:08:06
VVD is the only Senior Cb we have.
If that is not negligent I don’t know what is.
26 Jul 2026 08:10:19
Does Joe Gomez not exist anymore?
26 Jul 2026 08:14:44
Joe Gomez exist?
Yeah, you'll find him in the medical room. It's his home away from home.
26 Jul 2026 08:17:16
Don't you just love it when a poster criticises without knowing the inner thoughts, dealings, and considerations of the squad? Criticising what you know little about is not banter imo.
Last night I watched 2 18-year-olds looking assured, confident and incredibly confident on the ball, and that without a significant level of experience in front of them. Also without the presence of the best GK in the world.
I am not saying they are ready for the Prem, but they are half a dozen down in the picking order, and to look so assured is terrific.
They are also older than Rio, who everyone last season was calling to start. We must remember that. Would we have called him experienced?! There is only one way of becoming experienced.
No, I think our club and management know a lot more than you and I about what we need, let's let them deal with that and enjoy our team meantime. No negligence!!!
26 Jul 2026 08:18:08
Gomez doesn't exist, he's injured again. Keeping him would be criminal.
26 Jul 2026 08:25:11
Gomez should retire on medical grounds.
26 Jul 2026 08:31:07
Must agree with you, Metro, for kids they held their heads high.
26 Jul 2026 08:41:43
We didn't pay a combined total of 90m for both Jacquet and Leoni to play for the reserves. They were starters for the senior team prior to moving to us, and I'd imagine them to be the senior CBs in ours too.
26 Jul 2026 08:43:13
Great post, Metro. We have 6 CB's anyway. OP is just being dramatic. Virgil, Gomez, Leoni, Jacquet, Ndiaye and Ndukwe.
Virgil and Gomez are as senior as you get. Jacquet and Leoni cost £95m and will not be playing academy football. Ndukwe and Ndiaye will be training with the first team regularly.
Gomez's injury record is the main concern. He will be 4th choice CB anyway in my opinion, but due to his fragility, we need to take an idea from the Arsenal playbook (it made me sick to type it).
They know you can't stockpile loads of CB's without impacting squad harmony in terms of shared game time, so what they did was sign versatile players like Hincapie and Timber who play LB or RB but can cover at CB to a high standard when needed. Jules Kounde is a match made in heaven and I hope we waste no time in sorting a deal out when he's back from his holidays. He could be first choice RB, but step into CB if we were desperate.
26 Jul 2026 08:58:20
Yep, MK, I'd take the 6 CBs you mention, any day over Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Timber, Calafiori, Mosquera.
26 Jul 2026 09:00:16
Gotta be honest, our defensive options currently are a little risky for this season.
Last season:
Gomez started 16 games and missed 8 through injury.
Leoni started 1 game, missed 48 games, and has only ever started 14 senior games in his career.
Jacquet started 21, missed 13, only ever started 24 senior games.
Bradley started 13, missed 33.
Frimpong started 23, missed 20.
Tsimikas started 11 games on loan.
And then the Rolls Royce of standards, Vvd started 55, missed through injury 0.
Keepers.
Alison started 35, injured 20.
Mamardashvili started 20, injured 2.
26 Jul 2026 09:01:09
Yep.
And, for me at least, we are in no worst position than last 2 years at CB.
Whilst "senior" based on age and experience, I am far from a Konate fan, indeed have an oak tree on hole 6 of my golf course makes more timely interceptions - hate that bloody tree! His only contribution to France in the WC demonstrated very well my view.
Be nice to have another "experienced name" but not just for the sake of it. Let the bosses decide!
26 Jul 2026 09:13:03
Rome, thanks for proving my point accidentally. Hincapie and Calafiori are LBs and Timber is a RB. This is literally my point. They have full backs who can cover CB. It's what we should be doing. Man City do it too with Ake, Gvardiol etc.
It's an excellent method of securing CB depth without feeling obliged to rotate.
It is stupid to rotate CBs and therefore it's hard to get good ones to be back ups. But if you have full backs who can deputise, then you ensure you have high level cover who can pick up plenty of minutes in their full back roles.
Cheers pal, glad we're on the same page even if you didn't realise it.
26 Jul 2026 09:23:22
But Postklopp has a point in a way. Backing up what MK has said - Arsenal are so strong at the back as they've players who can cover multiple positions at CH & RB!
Gomez is our only squad player who can cover at RB & CH to a decent standard when he's fit, which is never!
Should have been shipped out long ago and replaced, and yes it is negligent imo not strengthening the RB position - cost us last season and will do this if we don't address it.
26 Jul 2026 09:28:32
Also. Frimpong is nowhere near standard for us. He is so poor.
26 Jul 2026 09:34:10
I fully expected you to get back with that reply, MK. I appreciate that Timber, Calafiori, and Hincapie are versatile defenders and the sort we should be looking for. I'm with you in wanting a player like Kounde.
It's the 6 that currently make up our CBs that I don't share your confidence in. I'll say it again, Gomez is a complete waste of space.
Leoni is still recovering from injury. None of us has the first clue as regards Ndiaye and Ndukwe. If we are starting either of them in the PL or CL, we are struggling. We all wait to see if Jacquet is up to it, and Virg showed last season that age is catching up with him.
It's an area that desperately needs addressing.
26 Jul 2026 09:52:20
Get Joel Ordonez as full and center back cover.
26 Jul 2026 09:54:51
I couldn't resist, Rome!
I do genuinely think it's a bad idea to rotate CBs though. Arsenal effectively have Saliba, Gabriel and Mosquera in terms of specialist CBs. The rest are versatile full backs.
We have Virgil, Jacquet and Leoni as the dedicated CBs. Gomez is a versatile defender who can play RB and CB, but he's injured a lot.
I'd argue we should be looking to sign a RB who can play CB (Kounde), and maybe you could even make an argument to replace Tsimikas with a LB who can play CB.
I just don't want us rotating CBs. GK and the 2 CBs should be a settled trio for every league and Champions League game. Alisson, Jacquet, and Virgil are the ones in my opinion.
26 Jul 2026 10:07:53
Negligent?
JFC, lads, there are 5 weeks to go in the window. You can talk about "negligence" on the 1st of September.
26 Jul 2026 10:10:44
I 100% agree with your last paragraph, MK.
26 Jul 2026 10:11:27
Jacquet is a starter.
26 Jul 2026 10:15:06
What if Iraola doesn't want fullbacks that are more like centre halves than modern day fullbacks?
26 Jul 2026 10:22:05
That's also a good point, Rigsby.
26 Jul 2026 10:28:16
VVD has been carrying us for years, hopefully he can do it again and help Jacquet bed in.
Our lack of depth there is shockingly bad. We've managed because of VVD's amazing injury record.
To compare us with Arsenal defensively is pointless, as their defensive depth is on a different level to ours.
They also have Rice in midfield to shield a defence, which helps massively if they need to chop and change at centre back.
26 Jul 2026 10:32:28
LFC require a first team squad CB. One who is able to play beside VVD currently. The young boys are not PL ready yet. Leoni and Jacquet are not ready physically. Ignore Joe Gomez. LFC also, and more importantly, require a first team ready RB.
The RBs we have are just not good enough, nor available. 1 specific player for each position. Zabyarni seems like a no brainer, imo, for the CB role.
26 Jul 2026 10:32:59
Speaking sense here, MKS. Jacquet and Leoni are gonna play a lot this season, and as much as I think we should get a CB in this season, it should be one who will be ready to replace VVD going into 27/28. Easier said than done, of course. Hopefully, that can happen, regardless.
Jacquet will be the starter going into the season, imo, so let's wait and see where that goes.
Also, Iraola may just make us a lot harder to score on, which will also help the team defensively with the press, or with us being compact out of possession when the oppo. has the ball, unlike we were last season when the oppo. would just literally walk thru us with our guys just standing there admiring their aura.
A more wholistic approach is what I would propose this early on.
26 Jul 2026 10:33:11
@OP, Going early on the hysteria front. Let's see how things pan out over the course of the window. We have three starting CBs, I think - VVD, Leoni and Jacquet. We also have Joe as back-up to CB / RB in the squad, and we have a couple of the young lads we signed at Christmas who seem to be making a good impression in pre-season to date.
We need an experienced CB and a RB, although Ramsay showed promising signs. Sorry if my glass is half full.
26 Jul 2026 10:34:40
Calafiori and Hincapie were primarily CB at their previous clubs. They aren't versatile fullbacks, more CB converted to fullbacks to accommodate the way Arsenal play.
26 Jul 2026 10:41:39
You know who can play CB and RB. Jarrell Quansah and we sold him.
26 Jul 2026 10:42:14
I'll be here backing the underdog players all day long. I'll back the players (and coaches!) who get all the stick until their time finally comes to an end.
But I think there is a big difference between supporting an academy player to fill in versus relying on them to carry the team.
We are one VVD injury away from the complete unknown of Jacquet, Leoni, and then the real kids.
This is the situation right now.
In an ideal world, Jacquet and Leoni can step into the first team and just focus on their football and adjusting to England / Prem.
Same for the two new academy lads.
But as above, one long term injury for VVD and then they will have the pressure, expectation, and leadership pressures thrust onto them.
They may step up. They also may not. It is a very risky game to play "if" this is the plan.
I don't think it is the plan, at least I hope it isn't.
It would be negligent to end the transfer window with this current CB group in tow.
26 Jul 2026 09:20:10
Metro red, you're hyping up kids in a summer friendly in American heat it's nothing but a warm up!
LFC have one fit cb.
People done this a few seasons ago for hyping up Quansah he'd a couple of bad games was hauled off and then the rats came out calling and saying horrid things!
26 Jul 2026 10:48:51
Agreed, Irish Rover. If we don't sign a dedicated top level RB, we will not be in the mix for titles. Shoehorning of players into positions is not necessary. We have money and are a hugely attractive football club. We should target and employ the very best available players that want to play for LFC.
26 Jul 2026 10:51:34
I think we need another cb regardless of our options.
Vvd 35.
Leoni and Jaquet are young and need to be nursed in, especially after their injuries and lack of match fitness.
Gomez done to death, he's been crocked for about 6/7 years now and body can't handle it, not saying he's not a good lad or decent player, but to go into the season with those 4 senior lads is asking for trouble.
imo.
Loan with obligation of Zabarnyi seems like a decent option this year and brings another experienced cb in with prem experience and who has also worked with the coach.
No brainer.
26 Jul 2026 10:07:32
To metro red, I know way more than you.
26 Jul 2026 10:59:25
Let's hope Vvd plans a lot better than he did last season, the worry is his age is catching up with him. He needs to be at his very very best if the club decides to start the season with the current cb options.
26 Jul 2026 11:00:25
Jacquet is not a starter, Ron K.
It's not a main though. A snack, a side or a light lunch but not a starter.
26 Jul 2026 11:01:58
I reckon this is why getting Senesi on a free would have been a no brainer.
I think we missed a trick there.
26 Jul 2026 11:06:46
If Jacquet & Gomez are not ready, injured, or both, then to partner VvD we'd have only Leoni.
I'll put it like The Big O would put it:
Only Leoni
Know why, I cry
Only Leoni....
26 Jul 2026 11:19:42
A 35 Yr old VVD coming off the back of playing every game last season and every game possible at a WC, Leoni is a kid coming back after missing an entire season, ACL injury and surgery. Jacket is a kid who's coming back after missing half a season, shoulder surgery, and missed last night because of a precaution, so obviously not fit yet. Gomez lasted 7 mins before the old Gomez curse set in.
Also, he's our cover for 2 injury prone Rb (one of which isn't really a RB), and LB if needed. And now we are throwing 2 more kids into the group, who, whilst looking half decent in a friendly, aren't there yet. Out of that group 2 have prem experience, 3 are under 20, one is injury prone and hasn't put a run of games together in about 4 yrs, 2 are coming back off surgery and missing big chunks of seasons, and one is 35.....and some people think we'll be fine.
Brilliant.....but let's say, by some miracle, we are fine, and the kids who have no prem experience turn into prime Maldini and Beckenbauer, we still haven't addressed the fact we don't have a number 6 (don't say Grav, he can do a job but isn't a 6), and the fact Macca can't cope with the prem anymore. We still don't have a Rw, unless the plan is to play Szobo in Mf, Rw, Rb, tea lady and groundsman.
We still don't have cover for Bradley's annual 20 games missed a season. We're still relying on Isak playing 2 games a week, every week, because our other Fw, guess what, injured until next year, even then we don't know what he'll come back like. This club is a shambles behind the scenes, we don't even look like we're moving for players, all the while doors are closing on players we "monitoring" and everyone around us strengthens.
26 Jul 2026 11:41:01
Ah, so Ndukwe can't get a work permit according to Pearce, he's going out on loan. So scratch him off the "CB saviour" list..... Endo can play CB, can't he.
26 Jul 2026 11:42:24
We really should not be relying on Gomez. He's far too fragile. If we end up having to rely on kids due to injuries, it's going to get pretty rough, as our non existent midfield won't offer the sort of protection that Phillips & Williams benefited from in Fabinho, Henderson et al.
As it stands, we're very weak in the two most crucial areas of the pitch, in both centre midfield & defence, with 5 weeks to go. I'm not entirely confident or convinced that Hughes is going to adequately address it, given the rumours that he's already lining up deals for his new employer...
26 Jul 2026 12:18:40
Hold on a minute. Why is everyone talking about Leoni. Iraola has already stated he isn't going to be available for months.
He is not currently an option for CB until at least November.
Jacquet has yet to kick a ball for us and has been withdrawn "as a precaution" until the last game in the US. This doesn't fill me with confidence either.
As for Captain Quaver... he lasted 8 minutes, which is standard. Joe cannot play 90 minutes once in a row, let alone twice a week!
So realistically, we are going to be relying on Ndukwe and Ndiaye at some point in the first 10 games of the season because VvD and JJ/JG are not playing 100% of those games.
26 Jul 2026 12:25:50
Agreed, Dhfc.
26 Jul 2026 13:39:26
As good as all these CB kids might be, if we want to win silverware this season, we cannot be entering it with 35yo Virgil + Joe Gomez' hologram. We need one more senior pro.
Any one of Ordonez, Zabarnyi or Huijsen would do nicely.
Don't see the fuss about Kounde. He used to be a good player but struggles with muscle injuries these days. He's missed 40+ days of the season in 3 of the last 4 seasons.
26 Jul 2026 13:41:00
We need a proper CB and RB. Not a go-between. We need somebody who can seamlessly take the reins from VvD. Jacuet and Leoni are 19 and 21, that's far too young to be handed the keys to the back line. If we do not get in a proper senior CB now, there will be issues down the line, I guarantee it.
26 Jul 2026 19:02:41
Postklopp the knowledge bean. ??
JDR, I am not hyping up anyone.
My point is very simple. The club will deal with it in a much better way than any of us. Talk of negligence is lack of intelligence.