Liverpool's Defensive Crisis Ahead of New Season

Andoni Iraola hasn’t kicked a ball in competitive anger as Liverpool manager yet, but the old Anfield storyline has already found him.

An injury crisis. At centre-back. Again.

A new season, the same old tightrope

In a fortnight, Liverpool will be on the brink of their 2026/27 opener at St James’ Park, and the squad still looks a couple of pieces short of ready. The absence of a nailed-on successor to Mohamed Salah on the right is one obvious gap. The bigger problem, though, sits right at the spine of the team.

Until Ronald Araujo’s move accelerated, Liverpool were staring at the prospect of going into the new campaign with just one fully fit senior centre-back.

Joe Gomez is already ruled out. Giovanni Leoni, whose season-ending ACL injury in September reshaped last year’s title challenge, has not yet returned to full training. Jeremy Jacquet, back early for pre-season, still hasn’t played a single minute this summer.

The friendly against Monaco at Anfield was supposed to offer clarity on Jacquet’s readiness. Instead, it has underlined the doubt. If the Frenchman misses that game, the most optimistic reading is a 45‑minute run-out against Como next weekend. That would be his only real preparation before a first taste of Premier League football away at Newcastle.

It’s a stretch. For a defender still adjusting to the pace and physicality of English football, it’s close to a gamble.

Araujo and Van Dijk: cotton wool and crash course

That leaves Iraola with one realistic plan: keep Virgil van Dijk and Araujo wrapped in cotton wool for the next two weeks and pray they build a working partnership on the fly.

There is no gentle bedding-in period here. Araujo, whose impending arrival has the feel of an opportunistic stop-gap more than a long-crafted recruitment move, will be expected to walk straight into the heart of the defence alongside the captain. They will have to learn one another’s habits, positioning and instincts at speed.

Liverpool have been here before with injuries, but this time the situation carries a sharper edge. Anyone glancing at the squad at the start of the summer could see the back four needed reinforcing. The club moved late, and the margin for error has shrunk to almost nothing.

Even with Araujo on board, Iraola is still one awkward landing or mistimed challenge away from a full-blown defensive patch job on opening day.

Slot’s blueprint in a tight corner

If that happens, he may have to borrow directly from Arne Slot’s playbook.

Slot spent much of last season walking the same tightrope. Leoni’s ACL tear in September left him with just three recognised centre-backs for the rest of the campaign. The Dutchman never publicly panicked, despite Gomez’s history of setbacks and Ibrahima Konaté’s stop-start availability.

"Ryan (Gravenberch) and Wata (Endo) can play there," he said bluntly in the early weeks. "So it is not like all of a sudden we don't have options in that position anymore."

It was a manager’s answer, but it was also the truth. Endo has long been trusted to drop into the back line when required, and has done so several times during his three years at the club. His reading of the game and calm on the ball make him a natural emergency option.

The problem for Iraola is timing. Endo has only just returned to training after his own injury. Throwing him straight into centre-back away to Newcastle, with limited minutes in his legs, would be a huge ask.

That points the finger towards Gravenberch as the next man up if Van Dijk or Araujo suffer a knock.

Midfielders in the firing line

Gravenberch has been used at centre-back before, but only sparingly. His most notable outing came in January’s 6-0 win over Qarabag, a night so comfortable that it barely counts as evidence of how he would cope under real pressure.

Newcastle away is not Qarabag at home. It is intensity, aerial bombardment, and a crowd that senses any weakness.

Yet Iraola’s list of alternatives is painfully short. There is no hidden senior option, no experienced utility defender waiting in the wings. If Van Dijk or Araujo are unavailable, the solution almost certainly involves a midfielder being dragged backwards into the back four.

It would not look good for a club of Liverpool’s stature to begin a season with Gravenberch or Endo starting at centre-back. It would underline how thin the planning has been in a position that has repeatedly defined their campaigns.

For now, the equation is brutally simple. Araujo must arrive, adapt and stay fit. Van Dijk must do what he has done for most of his Liverpool career: hold everything together.

Two weeks out from Newcastle, Iraola’s first season already feels like it’s balancing on two pairs of hamstrings.