Liverpool could begin preseason with only Jérémy Jacquet and Geovanni Leoni available as senior center backs, a thin start made worse by the fact that both are still working back from serious injuries. Jérémy Jacquet, who agreed a pre-arranged transfer to Liverpool in February worth up to $80.4 million (£60 million), suffered a serious shoulder injury within a week of the deal. The Athletic reported that the 20-year-old is expected to be ready for the planned start of Liverpool’s preseason program in early July, but the margin for error remains small.
Leoni, the 19-year-old who picked up an ACL injury on his debut last September, is also on the road back, while Virgil van Dijk will be away with the Netherlands at the World Cup into early July at least and will not report back until the end of the month at the earliest. That leaves Arne Slot with a potential opening problem before Liverpool have even left home for their summer tour. The club will train first at home before traveling to play Sunderland in Nashville on July 25, Wrexham in New York four days later and Leeds United in Chicago on Aug. 2, with the new Premier League season beginning on Aug. 22.
The pressure is not only about availability. Ibrahima Konaté reached the end of the season without an agreement over a new contract, and there is no sign of a renewal on the horizon. Joe Gomez could also look for a summer transfer if he wants more regular minutes, which would further narrow Slot’s options in a unit already stretched by injuries and international duty.
That is the tension Liverpool must manage now: a squad built to compete on multiple fronts could arrive at preseason with only two fit senior center backs, one of them still waiting on a contract breakthrough and the other two not yet back from long-term layoffs. If the club does not settle Konaté’s future or add cover soon, the opening weeks of the campaign could force Slot into decisions before the season has properly begun.
