Liverpool's Centre-back Crisis Ahead of Newcastle Clash

Andoni Iraola will take his new Liverpool side into the Premier League curtain-raiser at Newcastle with a squad that already looks stretched in key areas – and nowhere more so than at the heart of defence.

Centre-back crisis before a ball is kicked

Three separate issues have stripped Liverpool down to the bare bones at centre-back, leaving captain Virgil van Dijk as the only fully fit senior specialist for much of pre-season.

Big-money signing Jacquet, a £60million arrival from Rennes, has endured a stuttering start to life at Anfield. An unspecified problem kept him out of the recent 3-2 defeat to Monaco and meant he played no part in pre-season up to that point, having already seen his final campaign in France cut short by a shoulder injury.

There is finally a sliver of good news. Jacquet has rejoined full team training and is thrown straight into the XI against Como, a calculated risk from Iraola as he tries to build rhythm and understanding at the back before the trip to St James’ Park.

Iraola has not relied on hope alone. Sensing the fragility of his defensive options, he has moved in the market to bring in Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona. The Uruguay international starts the evening on the bench but instantly adds stature and experience to a unit that has been stripped of it in recent weeks.

Giovanni Leoni remains sidelined as he continues his long road back from the ACL injury he suffered on debut a year ago, while Joe Gomez is facing a disrupted start to the campaign. Gomez limped off in the 4-2 win over Sunderland in the USA last month with a muscle problem, replaced by youngster Ifeanyi Ndukwe, and that setback is expected to derail his hopes of starting the season.

On top of that, Iraola has had to absorb the loss of Ibrahima Konate, who left on a free transfer at the end of his contract and has since joined Real Madrid. One of Liverpool’s most established defenders has gone, and the reshaping of the back line has been forced to accelerate.

Midfield knocks and late returns

The headaches are not confined to defence. Curtis Jones has been dealing with a hip injury at a time when his future is being heavily linked with Inter Milan. The midfielder missed the Monaco defeat, returned to training this week, but is absent again here, his rhythm broken just as the season looms.

Victor Munoz and Alexis Mac Allister are at least back in the building after extended breaks following their World Cup exploits. They eased themselves in with minutes for Liverpool’s second string in a 70-minute behind-closed-doors friendly against Como at the training ground on Sunday, a game that finished goalless and offered more conditioning than clues.

Munoz steps up to the bench for the second clash with the Italian side at Anfield and will be pushing for more minutes as Iraola tries to knit together a coherent side from a squad that has barely been whole all summer.

The new manager’s ideas will have to bed in quickly. Newcastle away waits, the Premier League pace will be unforgiving, and Liverpool are already walking a tightrope with their depth before the season has even started.