Former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia believes the Reds do not need a new centre-back amid ongoing interest in Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk looked set to move to Anfield earlier this summer before the deal collapsed when Southampton accused Liverpool of an illegal approach.
Whilst a deal is not out of the question, Southampton have since resolved to hold onto their best players.
Jurgen Klopp currently has the likes of Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan at his disposal and Hyypia, though he is impressed by Van Dijk, feels a new centre-half is not “essential”.
“I think nowadays the centre-backs are a bit different than before, that maybe the modern centre-back, he is very good on the ball, he can play the ball, and maybe sometimes he has difficulties to defend,” the Finn told 5times.
“And of course you need to defend in the game, you don’t have the ball all the time.
“Van Dijk is a very good player, I like him a lot, I think he has very good qualities in every area of the game, but I don’t know if it’s essential to sign him or to sign a centre back. I’m not sure if we need a centre-back.”
If indeed Joe Gomez leaves the club on loan and outcast Mamadou Sakho moves on, more defensive cover may well be necessary.
The Reds have also been linked with Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij, Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.
