FSG have signed the new Van Dijk

Liverpool might welcome Galatasaray to Merseyside next Wednesday trailing 1-0 in their Champions League last 16 tie, but Anfield will expect Arne Slot‘s side to put their opponents to the sword.

If they are to succeed, Liverpool cannot afford to make any of the mistakes that littered their performance in Istanbul this week, losing at RAMS Park for the second time this season.

You could dismantle the Reds’ issues this season and find many of those parts in Tuesday’s display. In attack, Liverpool were toothless and disoriented; at the back, errors reigned, and Slot’s side were undone, once again, by a set-piece that bypassed amateurish defending.

Ibrahima Konate has received no shortage of criticism this season, but the France international remains one of the Premier League‘s most talented centre-backs. Even so, he was the worst of the lot in Turkey and renewed question marks over his future at Liverpool.

The latest on Konate’s Liverpool future

Liverpool made sweeping changes in the summer transfer market, but the failure to sign Marc Guehi despite reaching the cusp is one that has had a detrimental effect on Slot’s second season.

Partner that with the ACL injury suffered by Giovanni Leoni on his debut against Southampton and you have a real concern. Then consider the fact that no new senior centre-backs arrived this winter and you have a head-scratching situation.

Konate has ebbed and flowed all year, singled out as one of the core cruxes of Liverpool’s collapse this season before Christmas. For him to have been irreplaceable throughout is an illustration of FSG’s mistakes.

And, of course, the 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, with sporting director Richard Hughes having been unable to break through negotiating barriers. Real Madrid had turned the Frenchman’s head, but they pulled out of contention after so many failures on Konate’s part.

His mistake-filled match at Galatasaray served as a reminder that this is a defender who currently lacks the requisite composure and steadiness to maintain a prosperous partnership with 34-year-old captain Virgil van Dijk.

Numerically, Liverpool need to retain his services, but it might be worth wiping the slate clean and signing a replacement this summer, especially when Hughes and co have already moved to sign their new star centre-half.

Liverpool have already signed their new Van Dijk

Liverpool did not welcome elite talent to their ranks in January, but they were by no means idle. A range of teenage prospects were added to the books, starlets who could play big roles down the line.

Jeremy Jacquet might not be playing in Liverpool colours just yet, but a deal has been agreed for the transfer of the 20-year-old, who has stayed at Rennes for the remainder of the term.

Injuries have been rife at Anfield this season. So contagious, in fact, that Jacquet appears to have caught the bug after signing the papers this winter. He underwent shoulder surgery last month and faces a race to be fit for the start of pre-season.

This is a setback, but Jacquet has already built up a formidable reputation in his homeland, becoming a crucial part of Rennes’ backline and mixing an aggressive and front-footed style with a natural aptitude on the ball.

While he’s considered to bear a likeness to Konate, Jacquet could actually develop into a centre-back who rivals Van Dijk in the future, touted for big things and with the potential to become one of the best in the world.

His youth and inexperience haven’t prevented him from playing with quality in Ligue 1, making crunching challenges but also timing his defensive actions expertly while being confident on the ball.

Jacquet, it’s worth noting, is not free from making errors himself. However, he’s six years Konate’s junior and has been playing only his second season of regular top-flight football.

Could he truly be Liverpool’s new Van Dijk? It’s too early to say that definitively. Yet Jacquet is among the most talented young defenders in the world, with “top-five centre-back in the world potential“, as analyst and scout Ben Mattinson reckons.

With Leoni bouncing back from injury and FSG open to signing another centre-back, there’s every chance that Jacquet could end up replacing Konate as he heads off for pastures new.

In this, Liverpool might have landed themselves a superstar, someone with Konate-esque qualities but the potential to become so much more, on a level with Van Dijk.

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