The former centre-half admits there are few holes to be picked in Jurgen Klopp’s squad, but feels further strengthening could be made at the back
Liverpool should be looking to join the hunt for Napoli defender Kaidou Koulibaly, says Phil Babb, with the prospect of pairing the Senegalese with Virgil van Dijk enough to ramp excitement levels at Anfied up another notch.
The Reds are faring admirably with those already at their disposal.
Big money has been spent in recent windows addressing supposed leaks at the back, with Van Dijk and Alisson becoming talismanic figures on Merseyside.
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Babb admits there are few holes to pick in a squad which has tasted Champions League glory and remains well on course to land the Premier League title.
He is, however, of the opinion that another commanding centre-half would not go amiss if the opportunity presents itself to bring Koulibaly to England.
“As a fan and a broadcaster I wonder where Klopp can improve the squad and I’d probably say they might want to look at bringing in another top centre-half,” former Reds defender Babb told Gambling.com.
“That’s only because of the injury records of [Joe] Gomez, [Joel] Matip and Dejan Lovren. Virgil van Dijk is like a thoroughbred horse, very rarely gets injured, and if he could have another world class centre-half constantly alongside side him that would bolster Liverpool.
“I can’t see them doing that, but it might be in the back of their minds. I say this with a heavy heart because I’m a big fan of Joe Gomez – I have been since he was at Charlton when I was doing agency activity years ago. I started tracking him and was made up when he went to Liverpool.
“But if you look at the Liverpool squad and where they might need to strengthen, the only place I can think of is centre-half. You look at the full-backs – no need to strengthen there, there’s good young cover at left and right back, and Gomez can go there at a push, as can James Milner on either side.
“In midfield there’s a plethora of talent all capable of adapting to the tactics suited to each game. And then up top, the front three speak for themselves and Divock Origi and now [Takumi] Minamino offer good support from the bench as well.
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“I’m not so sure they will go into the market again this month or even in the summer, but from my point of view centre-half is the only position that may need addressed.
“Can you imagine Virgil van Dijk and Kalidou Koulibaly together? That would be some centre-half partnership.”
Koulibaly is generating transfer talk once more in the current window, with Manchester United said to be plotting a bid to acquire the much sought-after signature of a proven 28-year-old.