The heart of it is a simple question, really: would Liverpool be keen on Marc Guehi if he wasn’t one of those “timing works in your favour” opportunities? Because if the honest answer is no, then it tells you a lot about what kind of centre-back refresh this is going to be.
I’ve always seen Guehi, in this sort of conversation, as more of a squad-shape signing than a headline one. The Joe Gomez role is hard to replace: the fella who can cover across the back line, keep the level steady, and not need weekly football to look composed. If Gomez is going, that’s a real hole in terms of flexibility, not just minutes.
Like for like, or a slight shift?
Once you start talking about “like for like” replacements, you’re basically talking about maintaining the same defensive behaviours. Big, quick across the ground, able to defend space, and comfortable enough in possession that Liverpool can keep playing high and brave. If you think Ibrahima Konate is unlikely to stay, then the temptation is to find a similar athlete and move on quickly.
That’s why names like Jereme Jacquet or Ousmane Diomande come up in fan thinking. They fit the same physical and tactical box: front-foot defending, recovery pace, and the ability to live in the halfway line without panicking. No guarantees, of course. There never are with centre-backs, especially when you’re buying potential as much as polish.
The longer view: Virgil’s successor isn’t one signing
On the Virgil van Dijk point, it feels fanciful to think you buy one lad and that’s the “Virgil replacement” sorted. More likely, it’s a two or three-window process where you add different types and let the hierarchy sort itself out. You mention Leoni as a possible successor, but with an injury having robbed him of development time, you’re right to say there’s no guarantee.
That’s also why the young Austrian centre-back signing is interesting. If he’s got the stature and the raw tools, then maybe Liverpool are looking at the next cycle already: build the body, build the habits, then see if he can handle the responsibility later.
Robbo’s contract and the hybrid defender idea
If Andy Robertson is genuinely running towards the end of his deal, then the squad-building question widens. A left-back/left centre-back hybrid makes a lot of sense in modern Premier League football. It gives you rotation, it gives you in-game shape changes, and it helps cover the minutes when you’re asking full-backs to sprint up and down for 50 games.
That’s where a different fit like Joel Ordonez appeals, and why you’d look at that LB/LCB bracket as well. The specifics of who is attainable is another matter, but the concept is sound: replace roles, not just names. And if Liverpool get that right, it buys time for the younger centre-backs to grow into the “Virgil-shaped hole” rather than being shoved into it.
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