Gary Lineker Insists Liverpool Must Sign a Defender in January to Achieve Success This Season
Former England international and TV pundit Gary Lineker has stated he believes Liverpool must make additions to their defensive line in January if they are to stand any chance of success this term.
The Reds' attack has been marked as one of the most dangerous in the country, netting 33 goals across their 15 games in the Premier League this season, in addition to their 23 in six in the Champions League.
However, it is defensively where Jurgen Klopp's men's problems lie, with the north-west giants conceding the joint most out of the top seven in the English top flight, alongside Arsenal with 16.
Liverpool had attempted to shore up their defence over the summer, with Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk at the top of the 50-year-old German manager's priority list.
However, following an illegal approach, they were unable to coax the Netherlands international to join Anfield and have found themselves short on occasions since, with their 5-0 thumping at Manchester City, 4-1 humbling at Tottenham Hotspur and surrender of a three-goal lead in Seville in the Champions League rather large blotches on this campaign's record.
But as the Reds head towards the upcoming festive fixture pile-up they are also edging closer to the January transfer window, a spell where Lineker believes Klopp must be active and finally add some solidity to his defence.
"They have a good squad", the 57-year-old told BT Sport following their 7-0 rout over CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, as quoted by Sport Review.
"He’s got to go for [it in] January. That’s they key until the end of the season.
“They can’t afford to be weak back there when they’re playing lots of big teams in the competition [the Champions League].”
Liverpool now focus their attention back to the Premier League after confirming top-spot qualification from Group E in midweek, where they face closest rivals Everton at Anfield on Sunday in the first of three Merseyside derbies this season.
