Liverpool have suffered an injury blow to Giovanni Leoni that has left them short in defence.
It’s a situation that Liverpool fans feared.
When Marc Guehi’s move to Anfield collapsed, plenty were concerned the Reds were left short in central defence. There was no denying the quality of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. They were the partnership that helped win Arne Slot the Premier League title in his maiden season as head coach.
But the depth below Van Dijk and Konate was the worry. Joe Gomez has been plagued by fitness issues for several years. Meanwhile, Giovanni Leoni arrived from Parma with fewer than 20 senior games under his belt.
To his credit, Leoni was signed for the present and the future. He had supporters purring on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup before a heartbreaking moment. A tackle late in the game led to the Italian being stretchered off – and rupturing his ACL. Leoni now faces the best part of a year on the sidelines.
It is somewhat ironic that Liverpool’s next game is against a Crystal Palace side that will be captained by Guehi. Slot may say a prayer before the game that none of his centre-halves suffer injuries between now and the January transfer window opens.
Slot has previously admitted that Wataru Endo is an option to fill in. Andy Robertson could also move into the middle of the rearguard if needed. But neither are specialists in the role.
It has not been a surprise that some free agents have been mentioned by Kopites. Craig Dawson has been suggested, with the 35-year-old still without a club after leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And on social media, there have been calls from pockets of fans for Liverpool to send out an SOS call to a former favourite. A cult hero who won everything that he could during his time at Anfield. Joel Matip.
Matip is a Liverpool legend and remains unanimously adored by supporters. Signed for a free transfer from Schalke in 2016, there have been few better signings in terms of value for money in the club’s history. He started the 2019 Champions League final victory over Tottenham Hotspur and was part of the Premier League title-winning squad the following season.
Matip’s time at Anfield came to a heartbreaking end. He suffered a serious knee injury in December 2023 when in the final year of his contract. At the end of the campaign, he left Liverpool. Five months later, Matip announced his retirement aged 33. He had been linked with West Ham United before hanging up his boots, with Bayer Leverkusen also mentioned as a possible suitor.
In truth, it felt too early for a player of Matip’s quality to leave the game. And since saying auf Wiedersehen, there have been scarce traces of what he’s up to. Matip has not given any interviews to the media. Nor does he have any social media channels. The only time he has been sighted was at a Schalke game in April.
Given he has called it a day, those who dream of Matip rocking up at Liverpool, signing a contract and reuniting with Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Alisson Becker will have to continue to do so. Matip retired because of his injuries. Even if he did fancy a comeback, he hasn’t played a professional game for the best part of two years. Now 34, he would take some time to get up to speed.
In addition, Premier League rules would not allow it. Each squad must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the ‘homegrown player’ criteria. A homegrown player is a player who, regardless of their nationality or age, has been affiliated with any English or Welsh club for a period of three entire seasons or 36 months before their 21st birthday.
Liverpool already have 17 non-homegrown players, meaning that there would be no space for Matip even if they wanted to. It was always a pipedream, anyway. Matip can continue his retirement incognito.
