A potentially perfect solution for Liverpool has been met with skepticism.
The Reds have been rocked by the news that Joe Gomez suffered an injury while on England duty, and now Jurgen Klopp will be scrambling for ideas on how to deal with that.
While Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips have been asked to make the step up to Champions League and Premier League level, they can’t be considered regular starting options.
Fabinho was asked to drop into defence, and did well, but then the Brazilian picked up his own injury and Liverpool were back to square one.
For now, all Klopp has is Joel Matip and that’s not a comforting position to be in. Whether the manager turns to the transfer market is anyone’s guess, but one name could provide the Reds will some form of security.
However, this is a move that has been greeted with some skepticism.
Ezequiel Garay has enjoyed a glittering career in Spain, Russia and Portugal. With 466 club appearances under his belt, as well as 32 international caps for Argentina, the central defender is a man of experience.
Importantly, Garay is also a free agent after being released from his contract with Valencia at the start of the season. With experience comes age, though, and the Rosario born footballer is 34-years-old.
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He also suffered from a knee injury, which effectively ended his time with Valencia. Although he’s since recovered from that, the last thing Liverpool need is another defender with a suspect medical record.
Garay’s name was mentioned on a talkSPORT phone-in that discussed moves the Reds could make after the news about Gomez broke, and Watford striker Troy Deeney failed to hide his skepticism at the idea.
Deeney, failing to properly grasp the meaning of short-term, felt that bringing in another centre-back would cause squad problems when everyone returned to fitness.
"He said: “The short-term buy would help but when everyone’s back, would Garay fit in? There’s so many things that Liverpool would have to look at.”"
Liverpool won’t have a full complement of defenders until next season, while the manner in which Gomez picked up his latest blow – an isolated incident away from the action – does not bode well for his prognosis.
Maybe Garay is the man Klopp needs to turn to. A free agent, experienced, who knows his role is to provide a service for six months.
What do you think? Do Liverpool need to turn to the market, and should they be looking for a free agent to supplement the squad while Gomez and van Dijk return to fitness?