Liverpool must face cruel twist after Giovanni Leoni injury as transfer stance tested

Latest Liverpool FC news as Arne Slot handed a big blow with the injury to Giovanni Leoni during the Carabao Cup clash against Southampton

For 79 minutes against Southampton, centre-back would have been the last problem on Arne Slot’s mind. There had been question marks about Liverpool’s options at the heart of defence heading into the season, especially after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, but against the Saints, the Reds appeared to uncover the perfect answer.

Liverpool signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma last month, landing the highly-rated Italian in a £26m deal to bolster their ranks.

While he boasted only 17 top-flight appearances under his belt, the Reds had seen enough to believe they had landed one of the best up and coming centre-backs in Europe.

READ MORE: Premier League rule scuppers Liverpool transfer option after Giovanni Leoni injury blowREAD MORE: Arne Slot already revealed two players who can replace Giovanni Leoni after Liverpool injury setback

There has been a great intrigue around the teenager since he joined the club as a result, with supporters given a first glimpse of his talents against the Saints.

Sure enough, they were suitably impressed. For 79 minutes, Leoni was arguably Liverpool’s best player on the pitch as the secret was let out of the bag.

Supporters could breathe easy at their club’s centre-back options once more, with the Italian putting in a performance far beyond his tender years.

But an innocuous coming-together late on brought his night to a premature end. Leoni was stretchered off, with scans later confirming he had suffered a serious knee injury and is now set for months on the sidelines.

Which brings Liverpool back to square one, with depleted centre-back options and a familiar headache to contend with.

The Reds were defending Premier League champions back in 2020/21 too, after all, when one by one they saw their senior centre-back options all struck down by season-ending injuries and their title defence fell apart before their eyes.

Haunted by such setbacks, it does not take much for Kopites to wake up in a cold sweat when handed any unwanted reminder of that injury-plagued campaign.

Consequently, there has quietly always been an uneasy feeling in the fanbase when assessing their centre-back options each season, living in fear of history repeating itself.

Two is enough in any position as every manager will insist, but that does not stop anxiety in the Liverpool fanbase when they see their side left unable to call upon a fifth safety blanket in their ranks.

What they’d do for the comforting presence of Nat Phillips after Leoni’s injury setback, though Rhys Williams was back on the bench against Southampton - over four years on from his last appearance for the club.

Well Slot now boasts just three senior options again, until January at least, in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez. And those latter two, along with having suffered their own injury woes in the past, also both remain the subject of transfer speculation to further add to the uncertainty.

Konate is out of contract next summer and is of interest to Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Gomez attracted interest from both AC Milan and Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer, only to end up staying put on deadline day.

Slot has at least reiterated his faith in the options he has at his disposal. Even taking Leoni’s absence into consideration, he recently pointed to options elsewhere in his squad that can make up any deficit.

“Ryan (Gravenberch) and Wata (Endo) can play there,” Slot pointed out earlier this month. “So it is not like all of a sudden we don’t have options in that position anymore.”

Andy Robertson is an option also, having finished Tuesday night’s game at the heart of defence after Leoni was stretchered off.

But the Italian’s lay-off will now only draw new attention to Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Marc Guehi in the summer, having seen Crystal Palace pull the plug on a £35m deal on transfer deadline day after failing to source a replacement.

It is somewhat ironic that the Reds’ first outing without Leoni will come away at Palace on Saturday.

With Guehi set to captain the Eagles against a Liverpool side that will also be short in attack as Hugo Ekitike serves a one-game suspension, it is an unwanted reminder of the availability tightrope they must now walk and what they could have won instead had transfer deadline day turned out differently.

After all, it was not their doing that the England international remains at Selhurst Park rather than Anfield.

Following the transfer miss, Slot confirmed his disappointment at missing out on the defender and appeared to hint that the Reds interest in Guehi would not end there.

“I think it would be ridiculous if I’m going to deny we were close to signing him,” he admitted. “That is so out in the open that that would be ridiculous.

“These things happen in football… For me, we would like to sign him of course, because we were in for him. Like I have said many times, if we feel we can strengthen the team with a chance in the market, we never hesitated to do so and that’s what we tried to do…

“It’s a pity but not only for us, but also for the player I think… Let’s see what the future brings for him and for us. If I am thinking anything (about the January transfer window), you know that what I think, I don’t tell you.”

While Guehi might have stayed put at Palace this summer, this is expected to be his last season at Selhurst Park. Like Konate at Liverpool, the 25-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and will be available on a free transfer.

The Reds remain interested in the England international. However, a mid-season move for the defender had previously been considered unlikely given his Bosman status at the end of the season.

With Liverpool now losing Leoni for a number of months, it remains to be seen if such a stance will be tested when the January transfer window opens and there is the possibility of snapping up Guehi for a cut-price fee.

For now, Slot and the Reds have to get by with what they have. Leoni had already shown enough on his debut to reward their faith in their current options, with it most cruel that he will now likely be sidelined for the majority of the season.

Just what is it about a Liverpool Premier League title defence and serious injuries at centre-back?

Phillips and Williams were the saviours in 2021, after Jurgen Klopp had signed Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies in January after initially turning to midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.

At least Slot’s current options - and certainly if further defensive injuries are avoided - look a lot healthier.

Guehi could still be the solution in January too of course, as Liverpool weigh up their options in the interim.

But that will do little to stop the Reds from cursing Palace’s failures to sign a replacement a little louder in the days leading up to their trip to Selhurst Park, after seeing the football fates once again fall against them.

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