Liverpool dodged a bullet by turning down January defender transfer

Tom Weber

• Updated: 1 Mar 2024 09:44 GMT
• 4 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool decided against making a move for Oumar Solet in January - and it was a good decision despite their recent injury crisis.

The Reds are in the midst of a tumultuous season. Despite all the noise surrounding the impending departure of Jurgen Klopp and an injury crisis that has seen the coach rely heavily on youth, Liverpool are absolutely flying.

Having recently defeated the 'blue billion-pound bottle jobs' Chelsea and then followed that up by brushing aside Championship promotion hopefuls Southampton with a team reminiscent of those you usually see in pre-season friendlies, Klopp's men (and kids) are faring brilliantly despite the severe shortage of options.

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With both Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk fit, and Jarrel Quansah impressing whenever he has played, the crisis hasn't been quite as severe at centre-back as in other positions, but Fabrizio Romano has nevertheless revealed that the Reds considered signing Oumar Solet in January.

Liverpool right to reject Solet

However, according to the Italian transfer expert, the Anfield club decided against pursuing a deal in the winter, though they remain keen on adding a right-footed centre-back in the summer. You have to say that, despite the injury problems, Liverpool were probably right not to sign Solet.

Since 2020, the Frenchman has been with prolific talent producers and domestic Austrian behemoth RB Salzburg, with the Red Bull side serving as a prime example of how to run a successful multi-club model unlike what Chelsea are currently doing with Strasbourg.

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Salzburg have nurtured players like Erling Haaland and Reds midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, so one would be forgiven to think that Solet could be the Red Bulls' next player to make the step up. However, according to data experts SciSports, the 24-year-old is well below the level required to play for Liverpool.

At Anfield, Solet would be nothing more than a rotation player with little potential to transcend this role. Both Joe Gomez and 32-year-old Joel Matip, whose season and Liverpool career are over, are rated higher than the Salzburg defender.

Moreover, Solet's fitness record raises doubts about whether he is a player you can rely on amid an injury crisis. This season alone, the Frenchman has missed games with three different injuries. In three-and-a-half years at Salzburg, Solet has been sidelined for a whopping 40 games through injury, also suffering cruciate ligament damage at Lyon prior to his move.

Liverpool were right not to sign Solet and they would do well to look at different options in the summer, which they surely will given that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke departed the club last month.