I didn't have to defend at Liverpool like they do now

I didn't have to defend at Liverpool like they do now - another transfer is needed

Sami Hyypia chats to the ECHO out on Liverpool's pre-season tour of Hong Kong and outlines his views on the centre-back situation at Anfield

Sami Hyypia at the recent Legends game (Photo by LFC Foundation/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Former Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia says he would be surprised if Arne Slot didn't sign a centre-back before the transfer window closed. And the legendary Finn believes the buy-back clause inserted into Jarell Quansah's Bayer Leverkusen contract could prove to be an astute piece of business at Anfield.

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The decision to let England Under-21 international Quansah leave in a £35m deal means the Reds now have just three senior centre-backs in Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and captain Virgil van Dijk.

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Gomez was sent home from the club's pre-season tour of Asia last week after suffering what has been described as a minor Achilles issue in Hong Kong and while Wataru Endo has previously played the position, Slot was forced to field midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and left-back Kostas Tsimikas in each half of Saturday's 4-2 loss to AC Milan alongside Van Dijk and Konate, respectively.

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Liverpool insist there is no panic over the situation at present but have been linked with a deal for Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi, who is out of contract next summer at Selhurst Park and Hyypia, who played 464 times for the Reds, expects another centre-half to join before the end of the window.

"I think it is good for Jarell to play every week [at Leverkusen]," Hyypia told the ECHO in Hong Kong. "He is in that age where he needs to play every week and probably if he stayed here that wouldn't be possible, so I heard that we have a buy-back clause.

"So when he is playing every week and he develops, I think we can [bring him back]. It would be a good thing to bring him back and he would be a different player.

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"When you play every week you somehow create like a bigger confidence as well that when you play here or there and when someone is injured. For younger players that can be a little bit overwhelming and you are trying too hard and you are maybe a little bit too nervous in that situation and you don't get the level that you can perform.

"So now if one year he plays there every week then maybe we can bring him back. But I guess this summer we still need one centre-back adding, so it will be interesting to see. It is probably [a risk to leave the numbers as they are].

"Me and Carra (Jamie Carragher), we didn't defend on the halfway line, so we didn't need to run as much. That was maybe physically easier to play every game but I think the distances we were running were not as high as they are doing now but I think, I would be surprise, if we didn't sign anyone.

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"I think Ibou (Konate) has had his injury problems and I think Joe has had his injury problems as well, so if one of them is injured then we only have two senior centre-backs, so yes, I would be a little bit surprised if we didn't sign a centre-back.

"I think Van Dijk is the best in the world. He is good on the ball, he can pass it long, he can pass it short and then defending he is so quick that nobody goes past him, he is commanding in the box. I think what I would expect more would be to score more from the set-pieces.

"I would maybe expect even more, him scoring. But he is so big and when he is in his stride, and he jumps, no-one can jump as high as he can. And he is a great leader, he makes everyone around him better as well."

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Hyypia also gave his take on the additions of £116m Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, who both played for another of the former defender's old clubs in Leverkusen, prior to their captures at Anfield in June.

Hyypia added: "[Wirtz] is coming to a new culture and a new competition and I think the Premier League is a tougher league than the Bundesliga, with all respect to the Bundesliga, it is a great league but I think the Premier League is a step tougher. So he needs to be able to cope with that, probably the tempo will be a bit higher in England, but he is a good player.

"He can receive the ball in small areas, which we need, I think. The difficulties we had last year came with teams who were defending deep. To be able to break them better, he is a good player for that. He can receive in a small space, he can turn, he can dribble, he can score goals and he can see the passes.

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"[Wirtz] is like Jeremie as well, they were in a good school with Xabi Alonso (their former Leverkusen manager). Xabi wanted to play football when they were in that team and very important parts, so they were in a good school already and with the work that Xabi, I know, wants everyone to work very hard in training every day and it is no different here and they will be ready when the season starts."

"[Frimpong] will face a battle with Conor Bradley [at right-back], I wouldn't count Conor out of that battle but yes Jeremie has different strengths than Trent had, I think Jeremie is maybe not as good a crosser of the ball than Trent Alexander-Arnold was but his speed is unbelievable and he can go past somebody one-against-one and, yes, I think everyone, all the other players they will see in training, they will see his strengths and they will be OK."

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