Liverpool was one of the big English Premier League (EPL) clubs that jumped into the race to sign “monster center back” Kim Min-jae (26-Bayern Munich) this summer. At the time, Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, and Tottenham were among the Premier League clubs that wanted to sign Kim, along with Manchester United. Liverpool were not as aggressive in their pursuit of Kim as Man United and Newcastle, who had been interested since shortly after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but they were in need of center back reinforcements. Virgil van Dijk, 32, who is considered one of the best center backs in the world, is still going strong, but his center back partners, including Yoel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, and Jarrell Kwansa, have shown some signs of instability.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp seems to have identified 1999-born Konate as the man to pair with van Dijk at center back next season. The Reds have frequently fielded the van Dijk-Konate combination in pre-season friendlies in Germany and Singapore this summer. 메이저사이트

Liverpool will host Bayern Munich in a pre-season friendly at the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday (Feb. 2). Kim Min-jae is expected to start the game. If he delivers a performance like he did against Kawasaki with his impregnable defense, Klopp will regret not signing him for the €50 million buyout clause. Of course, it may have been too much to compete with the €12 million ($17.2 billion) per year after-tax offer from Munich, but the fact that he didn’t have a say in the deal will remain a sore point for Klopp.

“It’s no secret that we are looking for a new center back,” Klopp admitted in a press conference ahead of the friendly against Munich on January 1.