Liverpool need to replace two of their centre-backs next summer. They have deals in place to do just that, though.
Both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are on course to leave Liverpool. Their contracts expire next summer and it looks increasingly likely that everyone will move on.
Van Dijk, for instance, is turning 36. Liverpool don't like giving contracts to players over 30, let alone over 35, and we imagine they'll decide that 2027 is the start of a new era at the back.
Gomez, similarly, will be 30 and his injury record makes it highly unlikely that Liverpool commit to giving him the game time he'll want. The Reds' longest-serving player almost certainly moves to a new club next year.
This is something Liverpool have prepared for, too. They already have deals in place to replace the two of them - and we imagine they'll go through.
Liverpool's centre-back plans
The most obvious replacement - and the one we imagine takes over from Gomez - is Ifeanyi Ndukwe. The centre-back officially joined Liverpool earlier this year and is now out on loan with Levante.
The club holds a clause to bring him back in January but it's not through that they'll enact it. Instead, Liverpool will allow the loan deal to play out, giving Ndukwe the experience he needs before joining the squad as Gomez's replacement next summer.
It's a smart move and we think Ndukwe will slot nicely into the role of a backup centre-back. There's absolutely a view there to becoming a starting centre-back, after all.
The other one? Jarell Quansah. This is perhaps the most obvious sign that Liverpool plan to let Van Dijk go. Quansah was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in 2025 but the Reds hold onto a buy-back clause.
The could have been activated in the summer, though it was always a lot more likely that Liverpool activated it in 2027. The amount drops next year - and lines up perfectly with Van Dijk's expected exit.
Quansah would bring the added benefit of homegrown status to a squad that's badly in need of it. So again, everything adds up here and we imagine this is all part of the grand plan.