Liverpool Make Final Decision on Deadline Day Premier League Heist—Report

Arne Slot is dealing with a defensive crisis at right back.

Lutsharel Geertruida (right) has already clashed with Liverpool this season. | Paul ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Liverpool’s ambitious plot to sign Sunderland loanee Lutsharel Geertruida has been reportedly shelved in place of a longer-term transfer strategy.

Reports of Liverpool’s interest in Geertruida gained traction on the penultimate day of the winter window. The versatile defender has impressed in several different positions for Sunderland this season, operating at right back, centre back and in midfield as the Black Cats mount a stunning campaign in the top flight following promotion.

Arne Slot knows all about Geertruida’s abundant qualities, having handed him 127 appearances during their shared years at Feyenoord. It seemed like a savvy short-term fix for a Liverpool side that has been thrust into a defensive crisis by injuries to Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Jeremie Frimpong. Yet, the stars have not quite aligned for Slot and Geertruida.

The 25-year-old only joined Sunderland on loan from RB Leipzig over the summer. Any move to Liverpool would have involved a termination of that agreement, which Sunderland would likely have demanded compensation for, and a new set of terms drawn up between the Reds and Leipzig.

Lutsharel Geertruida knows Arne Slot well. | Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Geertruida was “keen” to be reunited with Slot but the intricacies of any potential arrangement ultimately deemed the heist impossible, according to The Athletic.

Liverpool have instead pivoted towards securing their long-term future with the imminent acquisition of Jérémy Jacquet. The Rennes defender had been heavily linked with a winter switch to Chelsea, but numerous reports claim that the defending Premier League champions got the upper hand by agreeing favourable terms which won’t see Jacquet arrive until next summer.

This coup is good news, but it offers some awkward questions for the upcoming four months.

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How Liverpool Can Cope Without Any Defensive Reinforcements

Dominik Szoboszlai has enjoyed a glorious campaign. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Slot already knows that he will be without Bradley and Leoni for the remainder of the season. Gomez is expected back at some time this month but history suggests that his return to the treatment room is only a matter of time. Frimpong has inspired little confidence in his own long-term fitness during a muddled adaptation to the physical demands of Premier League football.

This leaves Slot with two senior left backs (Milos Kerkez and Andy Robertson) a pair of centre backs (Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté) but not one natural right back. Shunting either Kerkez or Robertson over to their opposite flank would be as cruel as it is redundant, thereby leaving Slot with the awkward option of three different midfielders.

Dominik Szoboszlai is clearly the first-choice stand-in. Unfortunately, the imperious Hungarian has also been Liverpool’s best midfielder and robbing him from the centre of the pitch may not be something Slot can afford. Szoboszlai certainly isn’t keen on the scheme.

“Not long-term, not even medium-term to be honest in my head,” he said of his right back role after putting in another impressive all-round display from defence against Newcastle United on Saturday night. “As I’ve said before I’m a midfielder and hopefully our right back is going to come back from injury and I can get back in the middle.”

“I think midfielder is more me than the right back,” he added. “I am close to the goal and I can be more dangerous. I feel from the right position I am far from the goal but I am doing everything for the team so we don’t concede, that’s the most important thing when you play defence, and also help up front with crosses and long balls, whatever the team needs.”

Szoboszlai also pointed to a pair of his midfield colleagues as potential alternatives. “If the team needs me or the coach needs me there I will play and try to give my best but now Wata [Endo] is ready to play, also Curtis [Jones] is ready to play there, so we have quite a few options now.”

Unfortunately for Slot, Geertruida will not be one of those options.

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