Andoni Iraola's Centre-back Crisis Ahead of Premier League Season

Andoni Iraola heads into the new Premier League season with a squad that looks worryingly thin in key areas, and nowhere is that more stark than at the heart of his defence.

The campaign starts with a demanding trip to Newcastle next weekend. Right now, Virgil van Dijk is the only fully fit senior centre-back.

Centre-back crisis bites early

The plan was for new signing Jacquet to arrive and ease the burden. Instead, his start has been stalled by an unspecified issue that kept him out of the recent 3-2 defeat to Monaco.

His fitness record offers little comfort. A £60million arrival from Rennes, his final season in France was cut short by a shoulder injury, and he is still yet to play a minute of this pre-season. The first step back comes tonight: he has returned to full training and is thrown straight into the XI against Como.

Iraola is treading carefully. He knows he cannot gamble everything on a defender still feeling his way back, so he has already moved to reinforce. Ronald Araujo has come in on loan from Barcelona, the Uruguay international offering top-level pedigree and much-needed depth. For now, though, he starts the evening on the bench.

The list of absentees does not end there. Giovanni Leoni is still on the long road back from the ACL injury he suffered on debut a year ago. Joe Gomez, who limped off in the 4-2 win over Sunderland in the USA last month and was replaced by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe, is dealing with a muscle problem that is set to wreck his chances of starting the season.

On top of that, Ibrahima Konate has gone. His contract expired, he walked away on a free, and is now a Real Madrid player. One more experienced defender out of the door, none permanently in to replace him.

Midfield worries and late returns

The problems are not confined to the back line. Curtis Jones has been slowed by a hip injury at a time when speculation over a move to Inter Milan refuses to go away. He returned to training this week after missing the Monaco defeat, but does not feature again here, his rhythm disrupted just as the season looms.

Victor Munoz and Alexis Mac Allister are at least back from their post-World Cup breaks. They eased themselves in with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Como on Sunday at the training ground, a 70-minute exercise that ended goalless and featured mostly Liverpool’s second string.

Munoz has done enough to earn a place on the bench for the second meeting with the Italian side and will be hoping Iraola turns to him for more minutes under the Anfield lights.

One week out from Newcastle, the picture is clear. The manager has a system, a style, and a stadium expecting a surge. What he doesn’t yet have is a fully fit spine.